Remember to forget
by Joker with dreams
Summary: Lucy is hunted by the same nightmare over and over again and seeks comfort in her childhood friend Gray. They run away together from the Heartfilia mansion when Lucy's father gets her an arranged marriage. What will happen if she encounters the demon of her nightmare in reality, as a normal boy? Will her nightmare come true? What faith did she set in motion by running away?
1. Ticking Bomb

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy Tail go to Hiro Mashima!** **  
** _  
 _Her muscles were sore. Fatigue overwhelmed her body as she ran further and further. She pushed her body to keep running, faster and faster. Adrenaline was her_ only _companion_ _as the same mantra played in her head. Don't get caught. Don't get caught._ _How long had she been running? Drops of water fell from the sky as her heart pounded in her chest. She wouldn't be able to run much farther. The air numbed in her longs as it became harder to breathe with every passing minute. All the oxygen seemed to disappear from the air. Her fist was clenched around a bunch of golden keys as she turned right and ran further before hiding behind a tree. Hoping the forest would hide her presence in some way. Who was she fooling? He could hear her, even worse, he could smell her. Her body functions gave up as her muscles contracted on their own in a shiver. Finally feeling the cold midnight air, she tried to think between the rustlings of leaves. She heard small twigs breaking, something was getting closer. He was there. She forced herself to get up and started running again. Trying to get away from the inevitable outcome but her legs wouldn't cooperate. She hid behind another tree.__

 _Don't get caught._

 _Don't get caught._

 _She looked around the tree and there he was, staring straight at her. For a moment, she was frozen in fear as those pitch-black orbs stared in her brown ones. Her hope crumbled. How foolish of her to think that she could run. Nothing would be able to stop him. Tattoo marks were visible all over his body and face along with those big brown horns visible through his pink hair. She couldn't turn away from him as his eyes didn't let her. She backed away, trying to postpone what she couldn't outrun._

 _It's over._

 _He's got me._

 _I'm done for._

 _His eyes looked straight through her. The boy showed a grin. She took a step back but a tree blocked her way. She had nowhere to go. The boy's grin widened in seeing her distress. In less than a second, he appeared in front of her. His claw took hold of her neck cutting off her oxygen as his sharp teeth blinked in his wicked grin._

 _"Going somewhere?"_

Droplets of sweat trickled her face as she woke up in anguish, trying to process what happened. No flash of pink hair, no sign of a forest. Right, she was in her room at the mansion. No boy was chasing her; it was just another one of her wicked dreams. That stupid brain of hers, keeping her up like this. Shouldn't a person be able to sleep at night and dream about jolly things? The fear and adrenaline was still rushing through her body. She sighed... She really needed her sleep. This had been going on for weeks already.

"Stupid brain, leave me alone!"

She reached for a glass of water on her nightstand, still shivering slightly and suddenly her bedroom door opened. She freaked out and accidentally pushed the glass off her nightstand. It crashed on the ground as she held her arms crossed in front of her face in a defending reflex. She looked at the door and a raven-haired man rushed through the thick wooden frame to get to her.

"Gray?! You scared the hell out of me! Why are you in my bedroom?!"  
"I was checking if you're alright, ok? I heard you screaming from across the hallway!"

Feeling guilty of waking him, she answered him sheepishly with a smile.

"I'm fine Gray don't worry so much about me. You'll get wrinkles."

The last thing she wanted was for him to worry about her. She was having enough trouble as it was. He walked towards her bed, careful not to step into the broken glass and observed her. Her hair was a mess, sweat gleamed from her face and the bed sheets were spread out in chaos.

"Did you have another nightmare?"  
"So what if it was? You should put on some clothes anyway."  
"I'm already wearing-"

Gray looked down and was surprised to find his abs exposed as he was only wearing a pair of boxers. Damn. Lucy took a reserve jogging pants and T-shirt from her night cabinet and gave it to him.

"Here, it's yours. You left them in the hallway yesterday."  
"Thanks."

He put on the clothes and went to get something to clean up the glass on the floor. Even though Lucy asked him not to, he told her that she would forget it and step on it in the morning. After he put the glass in her litter bin, Lucy made some space for him and patted the spot next to her on the bed. He sat next to her and they leaned against the wall behind the king-size bed, listening to each other's breathing patterns for a while until Lucy calmed down.

"So, what's wrong? Was it the same nightmare again?"  
"Unfortunately my mind has the scary capability of being dark and demented. That's what's wrong."  
"It's getting worse, isn't it? Can't you fight him in your dreams? It's your dream after all."  
"I wish I could. But it's not like a real dream. I find myself trying to change it but I can't. It's like a movie and I can only act my part. I don't want to fight him and only run. I run and I get caught. Who dreams of a boy with pink hair anyway? I don't sleep anymore because of those stupid dreams! If this continues, my father will notice the dark circles under my eyes."  
"You'll be fine. I'm here, so try to rest."  
"But I'm scared, Gray. Even if it's a dream, it feels so real ..."

He pulled her closer to him and laid his chin on her head. The thought of feeling those claws around her neck again was nauseating and her need to sleep disappeared completely.

"You should go, Gray. Or you won't be able to work properly tomorrow. I won't sleep anyway."  
"I'm going nowhere. Just try to sleep, ok? I'll be here."

This felt like home, someone who cared. She listened to his steady breaths and slowly felt herself drifting off to sleep again from the steady rhythm.  
Gray was worried. As the night went on, he could finally understand how serious her nightmares were. The first sign was her mumbling. He whispered that she was fine and he was there for her, told her she didn't have to be scared. He thought it helped, because the mumbling stopped. But after a couple of minutes she would talk louder in her sleep.

"Ono sundavar freohr … blöthr… skulblaka vard onr hjarta…"

He tried to wake her up, but he couldn't. She seemed to be in some kind of trance repeating those strange words. It became worse until she woke up herself. Terror displayed on her face. He held her in an embrace and tried to comfort her.

"It's alright. I'm here. He didn't get you Lucy. You're safe in the mansion."

After a while, she would stop her apologies and get back to sleep. She awoke another four times after that. Gray had his own demons, but this wasn't right.  
Something was up. And he didn't know how to help.

 **And so my second fanfic begins... This idea has been in my head for AGES. Really, I'm glad I put it on paper.** **  
 **(If you are wondering, the language is from the elves in Eragon :D )  
Reviews are always welcome! They keep me motivated while my editing improves ;)****

 **Title: Aloe Blacc - Ticking Bomb**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Elastic Heart

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy Tail go to Hiro Mashima!** **  
** **Second chapter, I hope you like it!**

Waking up from the sunlight as her maid opened the windows, Lucy found out that Gray already left. That guy was unbelievable. That guy practically had no sleep because of her, but he would still get up in the morning to do his job. She couldn't blame him; her father was a scary person to have as a boss.  
She took a long shower and let the dreams wash away with the water. Forgetting wasn't an option. The face of that boy was etched in that stupid brain of hers. His eyes that saw right through her, the tattoos and scales on his face, the mark on his shoulder… She hugged herself as she remembered how real the scales on his claw felt… How sharp his teeth looked… She was pulled out of her thoughts as the maid knocked on the bathroom door to ask if she was alright.

"I'm fine, coming right up!"

Acting like nothing was wrong; she let herself get dressed in one of her frillier and antique gowns as she was ordered to always be pleasantly beautiful. What a ridiculous statement. Well, she wouldn't say it like that but you can't be friendly and pleasant by just putting a dress on, right? Just like those silly rich people. Most people she met on such high-class parties were wolves dressed up like sheep, even her dad. They were all people who were merely interested in other people's hardships or achievements. When her father closed a new deal, everyone was there. But when times get hard, no one is around to help. They only gossip about it on the parties she and her father wouldn't be invited to anymore. Yeah well, she learned to live with it.

What can a mere daughter do in a world set up for her by her father? It was a lot of pressure, especially as a small kid to put on all those dresses and sit still for a whole evening. But if she could make her father happy with that, it was fine. Though she didn't think he ever felt happy. He always had the same harsh, disapproving expression on his face. After she was dressed, the maid combed her hair and pinned it up with a couple of hairpins. She followed the maid downstairs to the ballroom to get a dance lesson.  
Not noticing all the flowers and the decorations in the ballroom, she let herself be guided. Her mind wasn't in the dance but she followed her teacher's lead. Flashbacks of pink hair crossed her mind, but she ignored them. Everything was fine. Her teacher was satisfied and dismissed the dance lesson for today. A maid approached her and guided her upstairs as her father asked for her. It seemed rather important, probably something about a huge financial deal combined with a lecture that she was to behave herself in front of the next probable client. She went to her father's office and made a note in her mind to see Gray later, to check on him. As she neared the doors of her father's office, she took a deep breath.

 _'Come on Luce, get it together. It's just your father.'_

She arrived at the door and looked at the butler next to it, saying: "Could you let my father know I'm here? He summoned me."  
The butler bowed and pressed a button as he announced her. Her father's voice was heard through the microphone, saying he could let her in. He opened the doors for her and she walked inside, seeing her father standing with his back to her looking through his large window aimed at his property. It was a rather long distance to his desk as she walked in silence. His office was as neat as ever, three maids kept it clean throughout the day so that he could talk with uninvited guests without shame. When she arrived at his desk, she waited for him to say that she could take a seat on one of the two chairs in front of his desk. That was etiquette.

"Please take a seat."

She sat on the left chair and waited. Her nerves on end as she didn't want to do anything wrong and disappoint him.

"Daughter, I heard from the maids that you let the gardener sleep in your room yesterday night. Is that true?"

Oh it's just a lecture, alright that was fine. She could handle gossip about Gray.

"Yes I did, sir."  
"Do you know what consequences your actions will have?"  
"I do, sir."  
"Do you and the gardener have something together?"  
"No we don't, sir."  
"Then why are you willing to feed the gossip? Maids don't stay quiet; soon you'll be unfavourable to marry. Do you understand that?"  
"Sir, with all due respect but I really get along with Gray and it so happens that he's not a girl."

 _'Otherwise there would be no gossip in this repressing household'_ , she thought to herself.

"Don't be stubborn like that. I don't agree with this. If you stay acting like a child-"

They were interrupted by the opening of the doors to her father's office. The butler came in and bowed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but I had to contact you when the new client was on the line. Do I have to say that he has to call you back?"  
"No it's fine, I'll take the call."

Lucy excused herself and was ready to leave, but her father told her to stay put. He sat in his chair and took the horn off the phone.

"Mr. Eucliffe, it's so good to hear from you! So how's the situation? Do we agree?"

Lucy didn't hear the words on the other line, so she couldn't make a lot out of the conversation. She started fumbling with the fringes on her dress.

"I see. She's here right now. I'll inform her right away. So next Saturday is ok for you? Four days should be enough, I agree."

After the phone call, Lucy was on edge. Why did he have to inform her for a deal? She didn't have any say in his business. Maybe he was asking her to learn the ways of his business because she was his only heir? But that would mean he had to trust her… No way... He stood up from his chair and went back to looking at the garden through the window. Lucy couldn't keep her focus as her nerves made her stomach ache.

"Lucy, my daughter, I've been thinking. You've come of age and being a grown up means you're responsible enough to do this. I'll cancel your dance lessons for this Saturday so you have some spare time."

This was it. He really trusted her… The only time her dance lessons were cancelled was for her mother's funeral, so this really was a big deal.

"If we do this, I need you to stop practicing your magic."

Lucy's heart skipped a beat.  
In this family, there were no conversations about magic. Not ever since her mother died. She never told her father that she found her mother's keys and notes on how to make contracts. It was all collected in a box at the bottom of her closet. And when she found it, she made sure to never use it in the mansion. She practiced in the woods with Gray's ice make magic as her opponent. It was their little secret. And now her father told her that she should stop using the magic she inherited from her mother. How did he know?

"Why..."  
"Only fools are blinded by their own ignorance, I've known it all along. As long as it stayed small I didn't say anything about it, but you can nearly do everything your mother did. It's becoming dangerous. We're training you to become a lady, so you don't need magic. I'm saving you from the fate of your mother."

The tension in the room was prominent. Telling a mage to stop practicing magic is like telling a person to stop breathing. Silence cut through the room as his words burned inside her and her façade faded piece by piece. It was her well-kept secret. And now she found out it wasn't a secret at all! All these years of sneaking around, he was just playing dumb...

"You knew? Why didn't you tell me? I had so many questions and..."

Her father didn't listen, nor turned around to face her. He kept talking like it was the most normal thing to do in this situation. Like it was normal to ignore her, as he had done all these years.

"If you put your magic aside, Mr. Eucliffe promised to think about my offer. He hates magic and doesn't want it in his house. If you can do this, he said that he would be able to let his son marry you. The Eucliffe family has a lot of land next to us, so we could expand our property and I wouldn't have to worry about you not marrying because of lame rumours you started."

Her stomach ache made room for something other than nerves. Disgust was the only thing she felt.

"… I… You can't ask that of me."  
"I know it's a bit sudden, but he is a gentleman I heard. You will come to like him eventually."  
"Eventually?"  
"Yes, the proposal should be on Saturday, four days from now, so that you can get to know him. The wedding itself will be on Monday next week. I'm confident that you will come to like him before the wedding."

Something snapped in Lucy. Maybe it was because of the lack of sleep, or his lack of interest in her opinion, but her father was irritating her much longer than today with his almighty attitude. She stood up and he finally turned around.

"Don't act like you care."  
"What was that?"  
"Is that what I mean to you? I'm one of your deals? I'm just some horse that you can sell to the richest man in town?! I should have known. Why does it seem like I don't mean anything to you? I'm your daughter!"  
"I won't let you speak like that to me. Now sit down like a lady would."  
"I'm not some fragile girl! I'm your daughter! Shouldn't you care about my opinion? That magic is the only thing left of mom and I will not give it up! So what if there are rumours, I'll find my way somehow. This is your way. I've done everything for you to notice me. To let you say for one time that I've done a good job. It was never enough. I would do anything for your approval… but I won't do this. I can't… I can't abandon my mother's magic to marry a complete stranger for money!"

So much was running through her head. She held back her tears as she turned around and stormed out as fast as she could. She wouldn't let him see her in this weak state. This couldn't be happening. He yelled at her to come back this instant but she opened the doors and ran past the butler to her room and locked it from the inside. Leaning against it, she let the tears go. All of her sympathy for her father that she still had, disappeared in this moment. She slid to the ground and pulled up her knees to her chest. She cried like this for what felt like an hour. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't go back. Why did she cause such a scene? She went to her closet and reached for her keys in the bottom drawer. They were so much more than her magic... How could she give up her friends who represent her mother's heritage?

Looking around, a thought popped up in her head. She could run... Run away and leave everything behind... What was there to care about when she stayed? Her only family member officially wanted her out of the house to live with a stranger and the maids were friendly, but only good to feed the rumours. The only good thing here was Gray and she had to tell him before leaving this land for good. She took an old backpack from her closet and stuffed it with essentials; Toiletries, a towel and underwear. A fresh pair of clothes was harder to find. All her clothes in her closet were frilly dresses in the brightest colours. They would attract too much attention in the city. She searched in her nightdresses and found some gardening clothes, she used them a couple of years ago to plant new roses at her mother's grave. Putting on the black pants, her legs were being squeezed, but it fit. The white top was a bit short, but she could still put it on. There wasn't another pair of normal clothes, so she would have to buy some when she got in town. Taking all of her cash in the room and putting it in the bag, together with her mother's diary, she halted at the mirror to look at herself.  
She was really doing this.  
Making sure she had all her keys, she tried to sneak out but her father had already called her maids to her bedroom door to make sure she didn't do anything stupid.

"Miss, do you need anything?"  
"Uhm… no, I wanted to tell you that I don't feel well and I don't need lunch today."  
"Okay, do you need some medicine?"  
"No, I'm alright. I'll sit this one out."

She closed the door. Phew, that was close! Another way out was the balcony. She looked down and it was rather high as her room was situated on the second floor* of the mansion. There went her plan. She couldn't even leave. What was she trying to do? How could she face the world if she couldn't even leave her room? She leaned on her balcony.  
Maybe she shouldn't do this.  
She walked to her bed and laid down on it. Looking at the time on the longcase clock in her room, it was already 1pm. She didn't even know if there was a train at this hour. She only took the train for their trip to old relatives. A trip that they took once every year... If she would just apologize to her father and smile, everything will be back to normal. She'll go on with her life, marry that Eucliffe person and please her father... When she looked back at her keys, those thoughts disappeared. Normal? What was she thinking? She would have to sell her body to a stranger in less than a week! A yellow light appeared in her room and suddenly one of her most loyal spirits appeared in front of her.

"Troubles, miss? I sensed your distress."  
"Loke, you're a genius!"  
"I'll be anything you want me to be, princess. Can this genius help you with something?"

 ***I mean the US English 'second floor', equal to the UK English 'first floor'** **  
** **Title: Sia - Elastic Heart**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	3. Come with me now

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy Tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

The market at the centre of the city was a busy place to be in the morning. Old grannies bargained to get vegetables cheaper than the original price, parents had to keep their children in check as their sprouts were attracted to all the luring candy and delicious strawberries presented on all the different, colourful market stalls. If you look closer, you can even see little thieves stealing apples or bread when the market vendor isn't looking. Maybe they needed it, or maybe it was all for the thrill, who knows? Gray walked past the normal market stalls and went to one which had a roof of green cloth. All kinds of seeds and supplements for plants were presented in all kinds of different baskets. He searched for those who would fit best in the big garden of the mansion. It was his responsibility after all. The responsibility Lucy's mother gave him when she saw him wandering the street by himself. After a while it was clear he had no family to return to and she took him in. She told him he could live in the mansion when he did his part. And so he took responsibility for the back garden, to pay back her kindness. Even though Layla died a couple of years ago, Lucy's father didn't throw him out. It seemed as if he didn't want to judge Layla's decision, not even when he was against it. Jude kept an eye on him, but he could stay. That was more than enough, to have something to return to. Not quite a home, but more than enough.  
As a gardener, he took care of the back garden. There were other, more experienced people who cared for the front part because it had to be neat to greet all the guests. He didn't mind. No one told him what to do, only Lucy on some occasions because her bedroom window looked at his piece of garden. He did his job well, placing new plants, caring for the old ones. However, it didn't really fit his element. Whenever he got angry at someone for stupid things or worried himself about something, his magic would take over and as everyone knows… most plants can't really stand the frost. In other words, if he would've paid more attention this morning, he wouldn't be standing here at the market.

"Mr. Fullbuster! It's nice to see you this morning, having trouble in the garden again?"

The woman behind the desk smiled as she recognised one of her regular customers.

"Unfortunately, miss Kiva. Do you have some more frost-resisting plants for me?"  
"But of course! I don't know why you need them though, the frost is already gone! Spring is nearly ending and they said the weather will only improve from now on."  
"Just to be sure, I don't want to risk anything."  
"Well I've got seeds from Rose Mallow Hibiscus, Sweet Alyssum, Snapdragons, Twinspur flowers, Nemesia flowers and wild violet plants. Which will it be?"  
"I'll take twenty seeds from the Sweet Alyssum, Twinspur and Nemesia each, please."  
"Coming right up, say, have you heard anything from the Heartfilia family lately?"

Kiva was gathering the seeds in different bags when she asked him about the gossip.

"Why would there be anything going on?"  
"Well, I've heard from the other gardeners that they need a lot of roses for next week, but they didn't know why. Something big is going to happen I think… Your order will be 15 jewels please."

Gray gave her the money and took the bag over from her.

"That's the first thing I hear about it. But now that you say it, there are indeed more flowers in the ballroom and the hallway."  
"Oh well, we'll know soon enough. Have you been sleeping properly? You look so tired!"  
"You noticed? Yeah, it was kind of a sleepless night to be honest."  
"If you worry too much, there's a great pharmacist at the corner of this street. You should go there."  
"Well, I might take a look, thanks Kiva. See you next time."  
"Hopefully not too soon, take care of yourself Mr. Fullbuster. Have a nice day!"

If it was this visible that he nearly didn't sleep yesterday night, what would she think about Lucy? He went to the pharmacist Kiva told him about to get something for her. He could just sleep it off, but she couldn't… and it had been going on for weeks. As he neared the pharmacist, it looked kind of strange. You couldn't even tell it was a pharmacist. It was a rather old house with the word pharmacist on a cardboard attached to the door. When he entered, an old woman looked at him from behind the counter. She had a golden rod in her pink hair with a crescent moon attached on the ends of it. As Gray didn't say anything, she asked rudely: "Do you need something?"  
Noticing that he was staring, he coughed to clear his throat before speaking.

"Euhm… A friend told me that this was a good pharmacy to buy something against sleeplessness and nightmares."  
"You've got nightmares, huh? It doesn't look that serious."  
"No…It's not for me. It's actually for a friend."  
"I never heard that one before. Then come back with your 'friend' and I'll give the right medicine."

Gray didn't know what to do; this woman didn't even try to be nice. How could he convince her that he wasn't lying? A pharmacist should listen to their patients and be friendly right? But because Kiva said she was good, he pressed on as he put both of his hands on the counter.

"It's really serious and I'm not lying, she's been having the same nightmare since weeks."  
"She has the same one? Curious…"  
"Yes, I've been with her yesterday night and I couldn't wake her up, she mumbled some weird language and woke up herself. Could you just please give something that will make her sleep in peace?"  
"You're so persistent… Does she practice magic?"  
"Yes she does actually, celestial magic."  
"Celestial?! You don't encounter that everyday… Nightmares, weeks… Fine boy, if you're lying to me, I'll deny any authority that I've ever given this to you. I'm not going to pay the consequences if you know what I mean. Tell her to take a spoonful of this when she wants to sleep. Don't let her take it in the day. That will be 50 jewels. "

Shocked that she was this easily convinced when she heard Lucy was a 'celestial mage' Gray hesitated but paid and took the bag with the medicine. She motioned him to go back outside: "Alright, bye now."  
When he was out the door he stood still for a moment. Well, that was the weirdest encounter he ever had. Looking back at the shop, the black letters on the cardboard had some smaller ones under it: _Porlyusica_.

As he walked back to the mansion, the market was less busy as everyone went home to eat. He wondered what the maids would've made for lunch as his stomach growled. He suddenly felt hungry by the thought of food. When he made it to the kitchen, the maids gave him a couple of simple sandwiches wrapped up in a bag and he thanked them with a bit of disappointment in his voice before leaving. Eggs and bacon would've been nice. Walking past the mansion to the place where he was going to plant the seeds, a shimmer appeared in the corner of his eye when he saw one of Lucy's celestial spirits carrying her. Loke seemed to put her down and disappeared before Gray could say hi to him. He noticed Lucy was wearing strange clothes and she seemed to sneak around. He stared in wonder as to what she was planning while biting from one of his sandwiches. She never failed to amuse him.  
She looked around and suddenly saw him standing there, staring at her. A blush appeared on her cheeks and she ran towards him, dragging him along to the back of the garden. Gray let himself be guided and they reached the wall which marked the end of the Heartfilia ground. They went through a small gate in the wall, hidden by bushes and ivy. Behind the wall there was an open space surrounded by trees. This used to be their secret training spot. She pushed away the nostalgia and turned to look at Gray.

"Gray, I am leaving this place. I have my keys and some money with me."  
"You're running away with only your keys and money?" He looked at her very tight outfit and mockingly asked: "...in those clothes?"  
"Yes, shhh. Don't be too loud. I told the maids I was sick. Do you want to come with me?"  
"Hey, don't drag me into this. You'll probably be back in a couple of days."  
"Gray I mean it. I'm really going this time."  
"Sure, like the last two times?"

He knew he was irritating her, but he also knew that she had tried this before and her dad always found her and brought her back. By any means necessary. She would cry for days when she got back and his shoulder would be hers to cry on.

"Ok, fine. Then you don't come with me. Goodbye and thanks for everything."

She hugged him way too tight for comfort and turned around to continue to the deeper forest next to the Heartfilia border. He couldn't leave it at that, so he took her by her wrist to stop her.

"Come on Lucy, what did he do this time? Maybe it was a misunderstanding."

He saw her tense up. She looked at him with fear and disgust mixed in her expression.

"He… He got me an arranged marriage."

Several thoughts passed Gray's head. She got an arranged marriage. How had he not seen this coming? Sooner or later her father would do this. He shouldn't be so surprised. He couldn't deny she was becoming a gorgeous woman with all the assets a lady should have, physically and mentally. It was understandable her father would arrange this to give her a good future with a rich man. That's why the hall had more flowers and the gardeners asked Kiva for roses next week. They were preparing. Everything fit into place and somehow, he couldn't find out how he exactly thought of it. Angry? Sad? Happy? No, definitely not happy… Hurt? The only thing he knew was he didn't want it to happen, not this soon. As the thought sunk in, he let her wrist go and Lucy repeated her previous statement because he didn't react like she expected him to, as though he hadn't heard what she just said, as though his world had to be crushed a second time.

"My father got me an arranged marriage next week and I'll meet the guy this Saturday. He expects me to fall in love and become Mrs. Eucliffe in a week. In a week! Can you believe it?! Euhm… Gray? Why are you taking off your clothes?"

Looking at his disposed abs again, Gray sighed and put his clothes back on. He made his decision and said to her to stay there until he came back. He left his lunch there, along with the seeds he bought this morning and went back to his room in the mansion. Taking a bag from under his bed, he loaded some clothes in it and a sleeping bag he had bought in case Jude would kick him out. He went back to Lucy, trying not to alarm the maids and took her hand to guide her through the forest without a word, going straight for the train station. He bought them a one way ticket to Magnolia, the second to last stop before the coast. Her father would think she wanted to go as far away as possible, so the coast would be too obvious. Lucy stayed quiet the whole way and tried to hide her face and golden hair as much as possible. They entered the train and found some empty seats. It finally seemed ok to talk as they were safely on a train. She looked at him.

"So… Are you okay leaving your job like that?"  
"Well this time you are seriously running away so if you run and don't come back I'll be all alone with your father and he'll accuse me for the fact you left. So… I'd rather stick with you then."

He tried to be cool about it, but he knew she could read him like no one else could. She knew he was anxious about leaving and about the marriage too. She didn't say anything about it and just smiled that gorgeous smile of hers. She only smiled genuinely on rare occasions so he couldn't turn away from it and smiled along.

"I'm glad you're here Gray, thanks. So… what are we going to do once we arrive?"  
"Find somewhere to sleep, probably somewhere not too obvious for the first nights. We'll figure the rest out on the way."

 **Title: KONGOS – Come with me now** **  
** **Thank you for reading!**


	4. Blue Skies

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

The big, solid oaks protected them from curious souls who were brave enough to go this far in the forest next to the road without the protection of a mage. The sun had already set and darkness covered their surroundings. The silence of the forest soothed most of Lucy's nerves. She lay down on her new, soft sleeping bag after a hard, nerve-wracking day. Gray had guided her to several shops to get them a 'basic runaway-kit' as he liked to call it. It was weird to pay without revealing anything about their name or hometown as they had to go by unnoticed. Gladly, there were no weird encounters or familiar faces in the city and they found a perfect spot in the woods to set up their "camp". If you can call a pair of sleeping bags and a campfire a decent camp, that is. They made sure to have their campfire at an open space, to prevent from setting the woods on fire. Well, when there was an ice-make mage around, the chance of a forest fire would be really low.

Looking at the sky, she could actually see the stars above in this cloudless night. Some constellations were unknown to her, but she recognised the one from the Ursa Major. Gray was searching for something in his backpack while she admired the clear sky. She was glad he came along. She had tried to run away many times before, but there was always something she did wrong to get caught and brought back. Not this time. She knew this time would be different. Instead of going to a hotel, they slept under the open sky and prepared their own food. Above all else, she felt free. If someone would come to get her, she would definitely fight them with all her might. She couldn't give this up. Even if it was only the taste of freedom for one day, it was luring her into another world. She couldn't face the reality of her old life, so why couldn't she just forget about it and start all over again? She could invent a new Lucy. One who wasn't as afraid to be a failure? She could defend herself and would if it came down to it. She wouldn't go back. Her new life was waiting. Her new life was calling her to do it her way for once.  
Suddenly there was an item that brought her back from her thoughts, blocking her sight of the stars.

"You're blocking a perfect view Gray."  
"And here I thought you would be grateful."

She sat upright and took the bag from him.

"You're giving me a present for running away?"  
"It's from a pharmacist. I don't really know if it helps, but she said it would. It's against your nightmares. You'll only need a spoonful before you go to sleep."  
"You got me medicine? When did you have the time to buy this? We've been busy all day."  
"What can I say? I have my ways of being a great guy. Oh she also said you couldn't take it in the day, don't ask me why."  
"Jeez thanks a lot. How much was it? I'll pay you back."  
"Just take it, ok? It's a gift."

She suddenly felt a hand on her head, caressing her hair. Looking at him, she saw that it was partly a gift for him too from the way he smiled. A bit of concern and relief was mixed in his expression. He wouldn't be worried anymore if she took it and she would be able to sleep peacefully again.  
Gray's cheeks were turning red and she suddenly got aware of her staring at him. A blush appeared on her cheeks and Gray's hand left her hair alone.

"I just hope it works, that pharmacist lady was… how can I put it nicely? …Weird."  
"That's not nice at all!"  
"It is! I could've said she was a rude, crazy woman or something like that."  
"You also could've said she was peculiar."

And just like that, the awkward moment passed. They laughed and finally decided to go to sleep. Lucy wasn't as worried to fall asleep anymore as the medicine worked instantly. She rolled herself up in her sleeping bag after taking it and fell asleep when her head lay down on her self-made pillow of a sweater. Gray looked at her and couldn't believe it really worked. After putting out the fire, he also went to sleep.

Gray woke up from drops of water which gently fell out of the sky. It was still night, but they hadn't thought of making a shelter against the rain. He turned to wake Lucy, but she was still fast asleep. He put a rain coat over her as he looked around for some shelter nearby. Nothing seemed to be decent. They couldn't sleep here in the rain and he didn't want to wake Lucy from her first real sleep since weeks, so he decided to take care of it. He held his hands together and whispered: _Ice Make Shelter._ _  
_Ice started moulding in his hands and he pressed both of them on the ground. The fallen rain turned into ice and rose from the ground, forming a wall and a small roof. He checked to see if it was steady enough. When he made a few adjustments, the rain poured harder and he heard a voice from behind him.

"Drip...Drip...Drop..."

It was a teasing, female voice. Gray turned around, but didn't see anyone because of the heavy rain and sudden mist. A feeling of danger was fighting its way through his brain and he tried to look for the source of the female voice.

"What do you want?"  
"Juvia found them..."

A sudden figure showed up from behind the mist as the woman walked slowly towards Gray and Lucy. Her fur coat with different shades of blue weren't even affected by the rain as she sheltered herself with a pink umbrella. Her hair was another shade of blue which was curled up by the ends, gracing the smooth skin of her face. The only thing not matching her beautiful appearance was the sadness dominating her features.

"So Jude already sent someone, huh?"  
"Drip… Drip… Drop..."

When she said that, the rain poured a bit harder down in anticipation of what was going to happen. As though the rain knew what was going on and waited for their next move, unable to focus on anything but them. The sky was covered in dark clouds where there were none spotted a few hours ago when they went to sleep. The woman in front of him tilted her head a bit to the right.

"Juvia only wants Lucy Heartfilia."  
"I won't let you bring her back."

Gray took on a battle pose and glared at the strange woman. She sighed before she raised her free hand at him and water started to gather from the fallen rain on the ground, even the rain that was still in the air. The raindrops stopped falling down and immediately went to Gray instead. He couldn't get what was happening by the speed of the attack. After blinking with his eyes, he was trapped in a giant ball of water and he couldn't breathe. This Juvia person in front of him giggled at the sight of his expression.

"Juvia doesn't like it if people are in Juvia's way."

While Gray struggled, he didn't even get out of the centre of his water prison. In the meantime, Juvia walked towards Lucy at a steady pace. He wouldn't let this happen. He tried to summon his magic, but the water and loss of air seemed to prevent him from casting it. He couldn't die here. Not like this. Not when his friend needed him. He tried harder and poured the magic he could still reach, into the water surrounding him. It froze and he broke free, getting a surprised look from Juvia. He breathed as much air as possible to compensate for the lost minutes and took hold of a battle stance again.

"Juvia can't believe it... Juvia's water prison… Shattered?!"  
"I don't want to scare a woman, but if you try to hurt my friend I will stop you."  
"An ice-make mage… Juvia must admit to be excited..."

Juvia showed an excited smile and Gray was glad that the woman got away from Lucy to get more into their fight. They faced each other, both on edge to start and show off their skills as a mage. There were no rules when mages decided to fight, only those who were decided on before it started. So for that matter, the stage of the fight was already set as Gray could've easily been killed not more than a couple of seconds ago. Their gazes were on each other, daring the other to be the first one to make a move. The rain was pouring down on his clothes, with every passing second they clung tighter on his body. It made him uncomfortable, so he stripped himself down to his boxers. He welcomed the breeze that cooled off his body. His opponent seemed confused with his behaviour.

"Why would you strip in front of Juvia… who is your enemy?"

When Gray looked at the woman standing in front of him, he saw a blush appearing on her cheeks. This was going to be even weirder than the meeting with the pharmacist…

"I'm not going to hold back because you're a woman."  
"Juvia can't wait."

He moulded his magic in his hands and got ready to attack. She only stared at him. When he let his magic go in the form of ten spears, they went straight to their target. If she wouldn't dodge it, then… Gray's heart skipped a beat when she didn't move at all. A spear went to hit her head, her waist and one of her thighs. The places they hit were gone, holes into the body of Juvia where wounds should be. He heard a seductive giggle when the spears hit the trees behind Juvia.

"Juvia is a water mage with a body made of water… Physical attacks won't work, you can hit me as many times you like. Juvia will stand her ground."

Blades made out of water were formed by the movement of her hand and Gray could jump away in time before they could cut him. Two trees behind him were chopped in half without any effort.

"You're good, I'll tell you that."  
"Complimenting Juvia won't really help you."

She threw more attacks at him and he dodged or froze them before they could hit him. He was using a lot of magic at a short period of time and his muscles were becoming heavier than before. With Lucy at the mansion, he was able to take a break. They never took too long to practice or they got caught by her father. But in a real battle like this one there was no such thing as a break. He didn't know anything about this mage in front of him. She could last for a whole day with good training, and in that case he wouldn't stand a chance… She threw some more attacks at him and her speed made him unable to counterattack as he could only dodge. He wasn't going to last long like this, so he decided to face her head-on. Her next attack was turned into ice in mid-air and crashed on the ground. She was astounded and stayed still for a moment.

"Water and ice…"  
"Is that all you've got? I won't ever give Lucy over to you, not over my dead body."  
"D-Do you love her?"  
"What?!"  
"Is that why you won't look at Juvia like other men do? Normally, guys won't stand a chance against Juvia's spell of her body."  
"There's more to a girl than looks."

The rained was still pouring down and Gray's hair and boxers were drenched.

"Damn this rain, it's so gloomy..."  
"… Gloomy?!"

The rain poured down more, which was physically not possible in nature, as Juvia's posture changed. Her eyes looked right through Gray as her sanity disappeared. Every seductive trait she had disappeared as rage pumped through her veins and focused on Gray.

"That's right. No one likes Juvia. Why would you?! What was Juvia hoping for? Why would this be any different?"

She threw away her umbrella and went in overdrive. She didn't mess around anymore and was dead serious when she sent several attacks to Gray. They were faster than before and some hit him as his flesh burned along every cut. Meaning the water of her attacks now boiled from her fury on top of its blade-like aspects.

"Aaargh that's hot!"  
"Juvia won't forgive you. You're like all the others!"

The fight was back to being one-sided as Gray dodged but Juvia didn't miss. She was a skilled and trained mage... the difference in battle experience was prominent as his skin got cut and burned; he knew the attacks were too much when it even hurt stretching his arms to defend himself as they were cut and red from the steam. He tried to freeze her attack again, but the boiling water burned his hands. Juvia stopped for a moment, knowing he moulded his ice power with his hands and he couldn't do a decent attack anymore. As it was, she had full control of the fight and they both knew it. She only had to land the last strike. Anger was prominent on her face, along with a glint of disappointment and sadness.

"Juvia thought you were different. Water and Ice is a strong combination... But Juvia was wrong."

She formed a wave of water and sent it in Gray's direction. The steam of the boiling water made the mist thicker and Gray knew he had to act now or he would be a boiled lobster. He put his two hands in front of him and summoned all his magic left in his body, forcing it out of his burned hands. He felt the hot water on his hands for a moment and cried out in pain for the second time they burned, but the water did freeze. The attack was frozen all the way to his opponent as he poured his will into the ice. He froze her whole body which was connected to her last attack. It was done. Relief washed over him and his muscles wanted to give up. But he couldn't give in to his tiredness. He knew she wouldn't be able to breathe in there. He hobbled towards her and looked cautious at the woman frozen in his ice. Looking at her scared face, he decided he couldn't do this... Whatever her reasoning was, he was not a murderer and couldn't kill her... He laid his hand on the ice and it broke under his command. She fell to the ground, gasping for air. When her breath seemed steady again, she looked up at him.

"Juvia is… free… Why did you save Juvia?"  
"And here I said to not go easy on you because you're a woman…"

He smiled at her, but grimaced in pain from the burns and cuts he received during their fight. There were burn marks all over his body as Gray fell to the ground. His muscles gave up on him. When he hit the ground, another hiss of pain left his mouth from the friction of his burned skin to the ground. He had used too much magic and his muscles felt so heavy... It was a bad decision to set her free. He could've melted the ice around her head, but was stupid enough to free her whole body. And now he couldn't move anymore, so she could do whatever she wanted to do with him right now. Juvia crawled towards him. Such a fool he was for letting her go. The next moment, she laid his head in her lap and her hand on his naked chest. He felt water coming out of her hand, flowing over his chest to form a small layer of water. The layer soon covered his whole body. This was it. He couldn't breathe, struggling in panic but the water cover didn't budge. The water fought with his skin and it felt like his skin was ripped apart. But then the water started soothing his wounds. She released him from the layer of water and he didn't feel any burns anymore. The cuts were still there, but the burns were gone. He looked surprised at the water mage.

"I thought I made the wrong decision for a moment there."  
"Juvia can do this much for minor cuts and injuries…"  
"Is that so?"

Gray smiled at her and lay back on her lap. Even though his burn injuries were gone his body still had several cuts and he used a lot of magic. His need to sleep and recover was prominent.

"Thanks."  
"You saved Juvia… Juvia owns you her life…"  
"What are you blabbering about? We're enemies."  
"But…"  
"Seems like the rain finally stopped."

Juvia listened to her surroundings and couldn't hear any raindrops anymore. The familiar sound was replaced by the songs and chatter of birds. She could still hear some drops of water falling down from the leaves, but they weren't the normal sound of rain she had been carrying around for her whole life. Looking up, the familiar dark clouds had made room for a beautiful clear blue sky. Sunlight was shining on her face. A bird broke the perfect blue blanket as it flew by in her line of view.

"Juvia has never seen blue skies before."  
"You don't? Well there's a first time for everything... beautiful, isn't it?"  
"My first blue sky…"

 **Title: Lenka – Blue Skies**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	5. Familiar

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!  
I know I'm soooo late, but it were a couple of rough weeks. I hope you like it!**

 _Although the landscape was etched in her mind, it appeared slightly different. Looking around, the adrenaline started pumping in her veins from the familiar scent of the forest combined with the feeling of danger. She wanted to hide, to follow her instinct and stay safe this time. But there was no trace of any claws nor pink hair. A moment passed and her heart beat slower when nothing happened. Something was off… but what?_

 _There were no clues._

 _No living soul was around._

 _Uneasiness overfell her as she wandered the empty landscape. As though her body was lead to something her mind couldn't grasp, her feet moved forward. After passing through the border of the forest, she saw the familiar hillside and climbed it. She didn't know why her body walked towards the place of known danger. Uphill was where her horribly terrifying dream normally started… knowing this, her feet could only move in one direction. Reaching the top of the hill, she saw something that was not for her to see.  
Going against nature, she looked at the familiar blonde locks and figure. Looking at a copy of herself, she couldn't move. Her whole being told her this was wrong. Frozen in fear, her body didn't dare to disturb what was going on. They looked the same, but the person in front of her was injured and seemed so tired she could collapse anytime. To her surprise, her other self didn't even blink at her when she rushed whatever she was doing. Not being noticed, she dared to move closer._

 _"Are you… Me?"_

 _The girl didn't hear her and took her keys in one hand while attaching a whip on her skirt.  
Fear was prominent on her features. _

_She finally understood what was going on. This time, Lucy wasn't playing her part in the movie.  
She was watching it.  
So that meant that he could come here anytime…_

 _"You should go! RUN!"_

 _But the girl was looking around, losing precious seconds of time. When she chose the forest as a refuge and took a step, she flinched and reached for her waist. Blood stained her shirt, but the wound wasn't visible. She hesitated._

 _"RUN! NOW!"_

 _They couldn't interact with each other, it seemed foolish to try because it was similar to yelling to a movie on a lacrima. But somehow the girl knew it wasn't safe and started running towards the forest, ignoring the pain._  
 _Knowing which danger was coming for her._

 _Lucy didn't run with her, because she knew what was waiting for her in that forest. Fear was prominent again as she looked at herself, running to a forest, trying to escape a beast she couldn't outrun. Fear became reality when she suddenly felt a wave of immense heath behind her and didn't dare to turn. Her soul recognised the familiar furious aura. Even though she knew the people in this dream couldn't see her, she froze. Not wanting to get noticed by him. The heath was aggressive and passed her only to stand still where her other self stood mere moments ago. She looked at the back of her nightmare in person and couldn't move a muscle. The horns, claws and scales were all engulfed in fire. Burning hot on the scales of his skin. He sniffed the air, kind of like how dogs sniff out food and he turned to look at her. Red orbs looking straight in her brown ones._

 _Could he see her? No way… This was a different dream... He just passed her. Just like her other self didn't see her. He couldn't see her._  
 _Don't worry Luce, he can't see you. Just stay sill. He can't hurt you._

" _Strange… smells right."_

 _He sniffed in front of her, mere inches from her nose. Her hands were shaking. The heat was unbearable, the hairs on her arms shrinking from its presence, but she didn't dare to move._

 _He can't see you.  
He can't hurt you._

 _A smirk appeared on his lips as he laughed._

 _He looked at the ground and there was a hair tie, right in front of Lucy's shoes, a blue ribbon which was misleading his scent. He tried to pick it up from the ground, but it burned instantly when his hands neared it. His fire was uncontrollable. He looked at the pile of ash with disbelief and turned to continue the chase._

 _Lucy finally breathed when he was gone. She held her breath most of the time, still anxious he would turn around. Although he didn't notice her, she felt as scared and helpless like in her other dreams. But most of the time, she woke up from this. Why was it different this time? Is this the effect of that medicine from Gray? Suddenly, her mind became dizzy. As though something was stealing all the oxygen around her. She couldn't breathe and reached for her throat.  
She saw a schimmer of another person who appeared when she was gasping for air. A young man with black hair and a white toga, but she didn't see his features as her sight was blurred. The man followed the beast to the fight in the forest, not even trying to notice her. She still couldn't breathe and fell on the ground while watching the back of the new man, walking away from her as she lost consciousness._

Juvia released Lucy from her water prison when they arrived in front of her regular bar. She took one of lucy's arms and carried her inside. She didn't know why she left that handsome man in the forest like this. Arriving at the bar, she searched for her only friend in this hellhole of a world. A white haired woman who could easily make any man go wild laughed at a joke from one of the locals. When she turned, she saw Juvia and excused herself so that she could point the way to the blue-haired maiden. The barmaid already knew what Juvia did for a living and walked towards her with a key in her hand. She showed her the way to the reserved hotel room from Juvia. Together, they laid the blonde girl on the bed and the barmaid went to get some drinks and snacks. Juvia looked at the girl on the bed with something close to jealousy. The boy from before really cared for this woman. What was so special about her? She couldn't figure it out. The barmaid entered the room again with a plate filled with a can of water and some scrambled eggs with bacon and bread.

"You must be hungry from travelling, I got you some sandwiches too if you want. You have to eat properly, Juvia, you look so thin these days!"

When they sat down next to the girl on the bed, the barmaid wasn't ashamed to ask what her assignment was while they enjoyed their eggs.

"The Emperor needs her for something, he contacted Juvia to get her as soon as possible without delay."  
"But Juvia, you didn't have to bring her unconscious! The poor girl… She's going to hate you if you treat her like that, you know."  
"Well, this is the fastest way without delay. Juvia wasn't able to wake her up."  
"That's strange… Maybe she's a really deep sleeper?"  
"Maybe... Mirajane-san, don't you have other clients? Juvia is keeping you from your work."  
"Don't worry Juvia, Lisanna is taking over the bar right now so that's fine. This girl is a real cutie, isn't she?"

Juvia looked at the girl with a strange, helpless feeling and couldn't grasp why the boy wouldn't look at Juvia the way he looked at this girl.

"I want to be here when she wakes up, so we have lots of time to chat! How are you doing these days? Any love stories to tell?"

Juvia's cheeks turned red when she thought of the strange stripping boy from before.

"You do! Come on Juvia, tell me everything!"

 **Title: Agnes Obel – Familiar**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	6. Find you

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

Stretching himself from what seemed like a nice nap; he opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. Leaves were dancing in the wind and the sun shone bright on the crushed grass. Standing up, he noticed the roof of ice he made yesterday and Gray suddenly remembered what happened. In his boxers, he was looking around as nervous as a squirrel would search for its food.

Lucy was taken by that water mage.

He gathered his clothes. It was already noon. Had he slept this whole time? He didn't know what he was looking for, a clue, a sign, something that would lead him to where Lucy was. They couldn't have gone that far. He took all of their gear, including two backpacks with the according sleeping bags. He searched for something that pointed to a fight, but he only saw the remnants of crushed grass from his early fight.  
He didn't find anything else. Lucy hadn't even struggled… Maybe those pills were seriously strong ones. Then it would be his fault that she couldn't defend herself… Great. He didn't have any idea of where to find her.

Some people had been observing him from the road as it seemed amusing that this raven haired boy lost something and seemed nervous beyond end. The biggest one of the four, graced with golden spiky hair and a scar across his right eye decided they couldn't leave him alone like that and went towards the boy. Before Gray noticed it, he stood next to him.

"What are you looking for, punk?"

Gray turned around to the man and had to look up because he was faced with a broad and solid chest of pure muscles. Intimidated by the presence of this man who could have been a god descended to earth, he looked at the scar on the right eye of the man. It had a shape of what seemed like a lightning bolt. The blonde one's ears were also covered with headphones. Gray noticed that he was staring and the man looked at him with a questioning gaze. So he tried to regain his voice.

"I'm looking for my friend. She was here this morning."

The guy looked at Gray in his boxers and laughed, thinking that this boy in front of him had a rough night and seemed to be robbed by some girl who took advantage of his earlier drunken state.

"No, you misunderstand. She was taken by a blue haired water mage. Did you see her on your way? She had a pink umbrella with hearts on it. I know it sounds weird but she did have one."

The man was suddenly suspicious by hearing such a description and his eyes narrowed. Gray took that as a sign that he must definitely know something about her, so he waited patiently. The man turned around to look at his three other companions. There was a prominent tension in the air. If they were deciding on whether or not to fight him, Gray would be grateful if they decided not to. He definitely couldn't win against this man. So as cards were laid out, he could never in the world win against the four of them. When the man began talking, Gray was glad that he got a chance to explain himself.

"A blue haired water mage, huh? What do you want with her?"  
"I told you, she took my friend with her and I just want her to be safe."  
"Let me give you some advice. If your friend is with Juvia, then you won't see her until she completed her job. "  
"Her job?"  
"You see, Juvia is a person you can hire to bring people to you. Not an assassin, but rather a skilled mage you can hire to transport people and messages. She finds information and people for you and she works really fast."

Gray was dumfounded. So he wasn't wrong. She was a skilled mage and some kind of spy or kidnapper… Then why in the world was he still alive? Did she pity him during their fight? If she was as skilled as this guy said she was, then he had no chance to go against her. Then why did she act like he had won in the end? She could've freed herself.  
And Lucy… They worked so hard not to get caught, why would Jude be on their trail already? They did everything to go by unnoticed, all for nothing. The big guy reached out to him, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"The name's Laxus. I can get you to Juvia if you want, just promise me you won't hurt her. She's weird, but kind of a friend of my girl."

Gray didn't know how to react, how in the world was it possible that this man knew about his attacker? This mage had to be really famous to be known from mere passer-by's. But he didn't complain. This was his only clue and he would follow it. So he reached for Laxus' hand.

"I promise I won't. The name's Gray. I just want my friend to be safe."  
"Alright, let's go Gray," The man turned around and started walking back to the others on the road, "It's already noon so Mirajane should have made the best lunch you've ever eaten in your entire life."

Gray followed Laxus and they introduced themselves. They seemed a bit crazy in their unusual attire, but he could deal with it. What's wrong with a sword and a helmet these days?

"So this friend of yours, is she a mage too?"

Gray looked surprised at the taller man. He never said anything of them being mages…  
How did he know?

"You're not fooling an S class mage like me. I sense the cold coming off of you, ice mage. Even when you encountered Juvia and were rained down upon, you still haven't got a cold. But you're definitely not an S class. By the way, Juvia isn't hired to collect mere citizens. She's too capable for that as a former elite member of the element 4. And far too expensive if you ask me."  
"… She's a mage too."  
"You'll find her back, punk. I'll tell you that. Come on; let's go before our lunch gets cold."

Gray walked along and heard all rumours of the town they were headed. It was foreign for him, but after a while and some stories from Freed, it seemed like he knew every little detail. It was weird to be accompanied by this thunder god tribe, as they like to call themselves, because they seem like a very close bunch. Although Laxus didn't say much, Freed was as chatty as can be when he talked about Laxus and all of their accomplishments as a team.

After a while, it annoyed the hell out of Gray so he was glad to arrive at the bar Laxus told him about. He didn't know what he was going to do when he found the blue mage, but he just wanted to know if Lucy was alright. When they went inside, a flash of white came out from behind the bar and approached Laxus to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Right on time for lunch! Oh and who is this handsome new boy?"

Laxus was a bit harsh on her and went to sit at the bar.

"That's Gray, we found him looking for someone."

The girl came closer to Gray and whispered in his ear: "If you're looking for someone, I can always hook you up with a friend of mine. She's really pretty."  
"Euhm it's fine, my friend was taken actually. I'm looking for her."  
"I see. Well that's the worst if they're taken already. But you know, you can still score when there is a keeper in the goal! Don't give up!"

Gray watched the woman getting back behind the bar and he wondered if she ever thought about something different than matchmaking. The thunder god tribe sat at the bar and he went to sit next to them. He was glad that Laxus took control of the conversation.

"Mirajane, five of your best lunches please! We're hungry!"  
"Coming right up!"

The woman went to the kitchen to get their lunches. After a couple of minutes, she was back with everything you can eat at lunch. A plate full of eggs, bacon, sandwiches, soup, bread and a pint. Five plates of that. Gray wondered why he didn't discover this bar sooner in his life and started eating, but slowed down when Laxus asked Mirajane about Juvia. He listened to what the woman had to say.

"Say Mirajane, is Juvia still around?"  
"No she's already out. She had this beautiful blonde girl with her and they left for the east forest. Her correspondent would be waiting there."  
Gray couldn't let this chance pass and sked what was on his mind: "Is Lucy alright?"

Mirajane looked at Gray and puzzled the wrong pieces in her head.

"So that's the girl you are looking for? Oh I see… That's so cute! She was doing well, a bit confused but she was glad that some Heartfilia man had nothing to do with this. Juvia is coming back tonight, so you can wait here if you like."

Gray nodded and he released a breath that he didn't know he was holding in.

"And you can tell me all about your relationship later! I first have to chat with my thunder."

She leaned towards Laxus and started to ask him about his assignment. Gray didn't know what was worse. The nickname or the fact that he had to talk about Lucy and him in front of a girl who twisted everything into love…

 **Title: TOPIC – Find you feat. Jake Reese**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	7. On my own

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

 **I made a playlist of the chapter titels on youtube for this fanfic, so if you're interested just type 'Fanfiction Remember to forget list' and you'll find it!** **  
** **I hope you enjoy the chapter** **x**

Lucy didn't know why she came along but this woman seemed trustworthy and the graceful barmaid too. She didn't know where Gray was, but Juvia said he was doing some errands in town and would be in the bar by the evening. Lucy had no reason to worry as this woman didn't have any connection with her father. She was told that someone wanted to talk with her because of her celestial magic. She couldn't help but be curious about what this person would know more than the notes she found in her mother's diary.

They arrived at the eastern forest and Juvia told her to wait while she looked for her correspondent. So Lucy waited on the road like the naïve girl she was. It was a nice spring day, flowers were blooming and birds were joyfully singing in the trees. She wondered why this time was so different running away. Her thoughts were slightly focused on how her father would be handling this when something bumped into her at a high speed and made her fall on the ground. There had been no one near her, so she was a bit surprised with the dead weight on her back as she faced the ground. The person on top of her had to be thrown out of the bushes next to the road... He apologised immediately and stood to help her up.

"I'm sorry! She's overdoing it this time… Hey, are you ok?"

It took a while to register why her body was frozen, but then she noticed why. That voice was way too familiar… She turned around slowly, careful and with one of her hands near her keys on her belt. In front of her, there was the feared boy with pink hair. Her heart pounded in her chest. Fear and confusion took over.

Why would the boy from her nightmares really exist?  
Why would she, from those millions of places to be, meet him?

All of her nerves were on edge. Her stomach turned from the memories of all those sleepless nights. Her body remembered her fear, but her mind tried to calm her down. The boy offered his hand to help her up, pared with one of the biggest smiles she'd ever seen. He smiled... He wanted to help... She tried to make up her mind about the situation. He seemed different. No tattoos covered his arms or face, nor horns were attached on his head. The boy in front of her didn't have that aura she knew so well. No feeling of anger, murder or death was present on his face.  
He seemed as normal as a boy can be with pink hair…  
As she didn't reach for his hand he showed worry and thought she was hurt. He came closer and seemed to have hurt his left side as he grasped it.

"Damn it Erza, give me a break."

Lucy didn't want to admit it, but she felt safer now that she saw he was hurt.

"I'm sorry about that, she really gave me a hard time. Let me help you up."

He reached for her to help her up but Lucy backed away and stood up herself.

"I'm… alright."

He was confused for a second and she saw a glint of sadness in his eyes. He recovered quickly and stood up, looking back at the forest. He seemed crazy as he yelled at it: "Is that all you've got?"  
Lucy didn't know what was going on, but slowly reached for her whip which was attached on her belt. He looked at her and she felt the same adrenaline from her dreams, seeing his hands getting engulfed in fire. Her mind feared the worst. But the boy only warned her: "You should watch out, this is going to be rather destructive."

And the moment he said that, a woman came rushing out of the forest, covered with an orange-reddish armour. She aimed at the boy with deadly intent, but he pushed Lucy away and dodged it right on time. The fight really was disastrous as Lucy had to move three times to stay out of their range of destruction. Walls, trees, pathways, everything was cut and burned. The woman he fought used all kinds of swords and wore a thick armour, like a female soldier you shouldn't mess with. He used flames, just like the one from her nightmares. But it wasn't as hot from anger. It wasn't as destructive as the murderous intent she knew. She didn't know what to think, but her mind told her to run. Run while he wasn't focused on her, while she still had a chance.

So her feet moved and her mind turned blank. She ran to the nearest town, through it, continuing in the woods, fell a couple of times and got back up. When her lunges didn't seem to work anymore, she stopped. As if she had no breath in ages, her body gathered all the oxygen around her until her mind felt fuzzy. She took in her surroundings and noticed she arrived at a new town. She slowly walked towards it. Her legs felt so heavy that she leaned against the wall of the first house she encountered. Her mind started recalling everything that happened while she caught her breath.  
Her only clue to her celestial magic was gone.  
She met the demon from her nightmares...  
and he didn't live up to the known fear of the last couple of weeks.  
And… she didn't know how to get back to Gray.

Great.

It started raining and she looked up to the dark sky. Feeling the small drops on her skin, she sighed. Just what she needed. Without a place to sleep or even a coat to put on, she would freeze in a couple of minutes. At home, she would have three maids with an umbrella ready. Maids who would shelter her before she even knew it was raining. But things are different now. She had to be strong. What was a little rain anyway? The moment she said that, it started pouring. Everyone closed their windows and she saw a pile of books walking through the streets under an umbrella, paired with small legs under it. Curious… she watched and saw that two books fell off the tower to reveal the head of a girl with blue hair, tied up with a colourful bandana. Her face was full of fear. Probably fear for water damage to the fallen books. Lucy rushed to help as she knew how awful water damage to a book can be. She picked them up and put them back on the pile of books.

"Here you go."

The girl smiled and looked at Lucy.

"Thanks. Oh my, you are so drenched!"

Lucy felt her strands of hair as close to her face as physically possible, similar to the fur of a wet dog. The girl thought for a moment and looked up at Lucy.

"If you want… you can come to my place, to show my gratitude. I'm not forcing you! It's just better than staying here in the rain… My name is Levy by the way, Levy McGarden."  
"That would be great, Levy. My name is Lucy, Lucy H... Euhm let's just keep it with Lucy."

The girl looked confused as to why she wouldn't give her last name, but she dismissed it and started walking. Lucy followed the small girl through the streets. Anything was better than staying out like this. The girl halted at the edge of the town, searching for her keys as she gave Lucy the pile of books for a moment. When they were inside, the room felt somewhat familiar. A fireplace burned and a person on the couch turned towards the door. Hair black as the night and piercings all over his face, he looked scary as hell until he spoke.

"Levy, you said you wouldn't bring any strays over anymore."  
"Come on Gajeel, don't be so rude! It's pouring out there! I couldn't leave her like that."  
Levy turned towards Lucy and whispered: "Don't worry, he's a real sweetheart behind that grumpy attitude."  
"I heard that!"

Levy went to the couch and hugged him from behind.

"Aw come on Gajeel, she's just staying until her clothes are dry and the rain has stopped."  
"Fine. But! Only because I love you."  
"I love you too."

And with a kiss on his lips, he seemed content. Lucy got the feeling that this cute petite girl could make that man feel like his legs were made out of jelly. She took off her shoes and levy went upstairs to get her some dry clothes to put on. An awkward silence filled the room as the water on her skin dripped on the floor.

"So, blondie, don't you try to use my girl, alright? She's too kind for her own wellbeing."  
"The name is Lucy, and I have no intention of using your kindness for wrong intents."

He turned towards her and Lucy didn't know why he looked like she was an alien.

"Well educated, huh? That's new for a stray. I don't think she ever took someone home who even looked smart. Well, you two can entertain each other with books then. She'll like that."  
"She will eat all our food, she's so fat!"

Lucy looked towards the other voice and noticed two cats laying on the couch. A blue one with a white tummy and a black one with a scar on his face. The blue one walked towards her and started talking to her.

"Just don't eat my fish!"

Why would a cat be able to speak?! And if it was that normal, then why was this such a rude cat! At that moment, Levy came back with a top and skirt in blue and white and showed her where she could change. After a while, she couldn't imagine a more loveable place to be right now than this simple home. It was the first time since ages she saw a happy couple who didn't have to put up a façade in public. They were themselves and loved each other more than they knew. Her heart warmed and she felt slightly jealous. Remembering her home when her mother was still alive, loving and caring. She missed her more than anything in the world, she missed the happiness and the carelessness. But that was gone now, she had to find her own happiness and she hoped it would look at least a bit like theirs.

They dried the wet books and Lucy noticed she already read half of the titles present when she was younger. Levy was ecstatic when she told her and showed her their private library. It already stopped raining, but they kept talking at the fireplace with Gajeel sitting on the couch next to Levy. Lucy sat on the other couch, facing her back to the door. The blue cat surprisingly laid on her lap. So he didn't hate her… Levy told her his name was Happy and he seemed to like her. It was so comfortable to be here that Lucy forgot the whole event earlier. She lost herself in the stories and laughed… a lot. Not forced, just spontaneous laughter. Suddenly, the sound of the front door opening stilled their conversation. When the new guests talked, Lucy stiffened up.

"Hey Happy, everyone, we're home!"  
"There you are! What have you guys been doing in the rain today? And why didn't you take Gajeel with you?"  
"Natsu had to be thought a lesson."  
"Yeah right, Erza just wanted to test her new armour!"  
"Who figured you would be fighting… Hey you have to meet Lucy! She helped me earlier!"

A sudden hand was laid on Lucy's shoulder.

"So that's your name, huh? You ran off like that, I couldn't even ask you! Are you ok now? You seemed hurt earlier."

Lucy jumped up, putting Happy on the couch. Why was he being so friendly? She excused herself and told everyone she had to go to the bathroom. She locked herself up and didn't know why she acted that way. She was never rude. But she couldn't fake it. Why in the world was it possible he would come to this house? Was the world really that small? She couldn't fake not to be scared… Those nightmares kept her up every night for so many weeks. The only time she slept a whole night was yesterday, when she took those medicines from Gray… Oh great, she lost those too… Someone knocked on the door and she heard from the voice it was Levy.

"Lucy, are you ok? … You can talk to me, alright? I don't know what's going on, but those two are really good friends of mine. You can trust them, I promise."  
"… I'm fine Levy, thank you for worrying, I'll be right back."  
"Ok, take your time."

 _Ok Luce, get your shit together and face that boy in the living room. He's not the one from your nightmares. He's a friend of Levy. He looks the same but maybe he's the friendly twin or something. Don't be scared when you don't even know him._

 _She hesitated._

 _Come on. You can do it. Put up that fake smile and talk like it's a deal from your dad. It's as simple as that. Just pretend and it will be alright. They won't know you're a scaredy-cat._

She looked at the mirror. Who was she fooling? She was an open book right now. They would see she was acting weird. The best thing to do was to leave this place and never come back. She would hurt Levy, but maybe Levy would understand. She had to get back to Gray. So she entered the room and everyone looked at her.

"Levy, I'm sorry but I'll be leaving now. Thank you for everything, but I have to get back to my friend. He's waiting for me and I should be back by the evening."  
"But Lucy, you can stay for dinner if you want, I have enough food for days. The boys always eat two fridges in one go."  
"No that's alright. I have to get going. Goodbye everyone, nice to meet you."

She rushed outside, forgetting her own clothes and she could literally facepalm herself all evening. What was she doing? How could she just leave like that? Levy has been so kind to her… And she just ran off in the rudest way possible…

"Hey Luigi."

Lucy turned around and there he was, the oddly familiar stranger who murdered her in her sleep.

"Can we talk? It's obvious you're scared of me but I want to know why you're taking it out on Levy. She seems to like the idea of being your friend a lot. She's done so much for me. Whatever is troubling you, you don't have to fight it alone. Let us help."

 **Title: Ashes Remain - On my own**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	8. Scars to your Beautiful

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

Shoes disturbed the sandy underground of the pathway surrounding the forest. The road was a mere indication of where to walk as no stones graced its edges, merely the forest on its left side. Leaves danced as branches swayed along in the wind. Memories tried to resurface in the form of a shiver along the back of the blue haired mage but Juvia tried to dismiss it as a result of the wind. They neared the meeting point and the memories from this place gained ground in her occupied mind. Gentle fingers found the ends of blue hair to curl them one by one as her stomach clenched tight. For a moment, she was lost in her memory but regained her composure and dismissed the feeling. Her head turned to her blonde companion on her right to distract her from the prison of her mind.

The girl didn't even know what was going on and Juvia could only admire her naivety in this dreadful situation. Lucy's eyes absorbed the surrounding nature and the town they passed by. Gold locks swayed in the wind and a smile graced her features as though she could handle anything that would come here way. As though everything would be fine. Normally, people wouldn't believe Juvia at first and it was her job to make them less awkward and jumpy until they believed whatever she told them. In her experience, it was easier to convince a man than a woman but it was still an art of psychology. Every assignment was different, with its own barriers to break before gaining trust. She was proud of her skills sharpened by her years long experience. She knew she was good at it and she knew how people thought.

That's why this was different.

She had lost total control when she faced that man earlier, confused by his presence and his way of handling things. The way he dealt with her was in the least consistent and she didn't know what he was thinking at the time. On top of that, this girl believed her and Mirajane immediately when they told her their rehearsed story. She hadn't questioned a thing. Not even when Juvia told her they had to meet someone as her raven haired companion had some business in town. It made her job easier but a long forgotten feeling took over as a knot appeared in her gut. A small sign of compassion tried to surface as she led her to the meeting point. But she couldn't let the feeling take over. She already felt little drops falling down from the clouded sky. This was her job. She was asked to deliver the blonde mage at the meeting point by the emperor himself. It was a big job and she wouldn't have to do anything for the next three months if she completed it. She had no idea what the emperor would want from such a naïve girl but it really wasn't her business. It was the first time she questioned her mission . Remembering herself not to be curious, she focussed on her task at hand.

But when her mind wasn't allowed to be curious, it drifted off to the abs and legs of that man… He had appeared in front of her as if he was the mighty Neptunus himself! Her legs wobbled at the thought of touching those abs and holding him tight. She was used to seduce the man, but he had released her from his ice and in her mind it was the sweetest thing anybody could do. He had wanted nothing from her. Not in goods, not sexually, not even the use of her magic. Maybe she acted wrong but the moment she saw him, she panicked. Not knowing how to deal with this new sensation, she had put up her defences. After their fight, she noticed she had healed him automatically when he started talking so sweet to her. Her mind was at peace listening to his calm soothing voice and she had missed it as soon as she left him in the woods. At the bar, she still couldn't get him out of her mind. Laxus was still on his job according to Mirajane so she thought it was a good idea to send him along that side of the forest. Just to see if that handsome man was ok and she hoped that maybe he could forgive her for what she was doing now. It was obvious that he had some feelings for this girl, may it be as friends or a romantic interest, he was a bit overprotective over her and it pained Juvia to be jealous about it. Juvia could have any man she wants, but there was never a spark of interest from her side. Realisation hit her as she knew that no man would be enough. She wanted him. She wanted him to only look at her. To protect her like he had protected this girl even though Juvia didn't need the protection. But how would she explain what she was doing? That he wouldn't see Lucy in the next couple of months if she delivered her? That it was Juvia's fault they were separated… Would he ever forgive her?

They neared the meeting point and she told the girl to wait as she wandered further and turned right behind a house to see a cloaked figure standing on the assigned spot. She wasn't informed of who the emperor would send. Only his most trusted men and women were aware of his plans and there was definitely something going on. Earlier this month, she had tracked down some mages for him and he only needed information from them but it was all handled in secret. Secrets triggered her cautiousness.

"What's the key?", Juvia asked the cloaked figure when she was close enough to be heared.  
"E.N.D."

The man turned around and Juvia immediately recognised his blue hair and red tattoo across his right half of his face. It was definitely not the black hair she was suspecting. Alarms in her head went off and caution was the only thing her mind could muster. She watched his movements and put her guard up, but didn't let it show. If this man wanted to kill her, she wouldn't have any chance to block or walk away alive. So she tried to be what she could be best in front of this man... Bitchy Juvia trying to win him over to tell her everything. She pouted and stroke through her hair.

"Siegrain, what brings you here these days. Is the emperor too busy? Did he sent his dog for me?"

The man looked at her as though she was making a fool of herself for even trying her tricks on him. He wasn't shaken from her little act, he was up to her challenge.

"Not too glad to see me… Well, can't blame you since last time."

Juvia couldn't hide a moment of anger at the memories, creating small raindrops which fell from the sky. It didn't last long as she regained her composure. She lost and she knew it. He would push it too much if she didn't watch what she said, so she answered harsh.

"The girl is a few meters back."  
"Are you done already with your act?"  
"The jewels?"  
"Too bad, I was just getting into it."  
"Cut the crap Siegrain."  
"Alright if you insist… The emperor didn't give me any jewels for you. He sent me so that I could say your debt has been paid with this job."

Siegrain reached for a document in his cloak and showed it to Juvia. Her muscles tensed in a mingle of cautiousness and excitement. It felt as though a huge load was lifted off her shoulders. Was he serious or was he only giving her false hope? Is it finally done? Siegrain walked towards her and passed her by.

"If you don't screw it up, that is."

Juvia was boiling. This man could never give her a break. She would never turn her back on him again. She would never forget what happened last time she tried. So she followed him to the place where she left Lucy and she couldn't believe her own eyes.  
Fear overwhelmed her as she saw the destruction in front of her.  
The road was cut in two, every tree close by was burned and broken. Everywhere was ash from several small fires. And Lucy was gone. The two of them looked at each other and Juvia hoped he would understand. But his face told something entirely different.

"… one simple job. Bring the girl. So you're still good for nothing."

Juvia backed away as he formed a sign with his hands and she knew what he was planning to do. She knew what his magic could do. Panic was prominent as she tried to reason with him: "Lucy was here… Juvia can still look for her!"

It seemed to work as he stopped his signs and the formed magic seal faded in the air.

"I forgot about that. It would be a shame to waste your talent… Find her. You were right on time, when a seal is formed I can't stop it anymore. Did you remember from last time?"

Juvia ignored him and her emotions, trying to regain her composure and doing what she did best. She took a deep breath and hooked her hands together in front of her. The sky suddenly became one blanket of dense clouds where normal clouds had been. When Juvia closed her eyes, the rain started. She enjoyed the feeling of the drops on her skin. First a small amount of drops, covering the ground with a radius of two kilometres around her. She focused on Lucy and her celestial magic. The raindrops fell and she sensed a light feeling of celestial magic. She focused on that spot and made it rain harder in that area. She saw the contours clear in front of her as the drops fell and it was most definitely Lucy. Suddenly, she lost her under some kind of umbrella. She followed the umbrella and it went in a house not far away. The house of the dragon slayer she had surveyed not too long ago. Just like she expected, the emperor was planning something big with these people. She made it rain for 5 more minutes to see if she went back outside, but it seemed like she didn't. Juvia opened her eyes and looked at Siegrain while the rain faded away.

"I know where she is."

 **Title: Alessia Cara – Scars to your beautiful**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	9. The Dark

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

The wind left a shiver on her back as the air was cooled off after the rain from earlier. Strands of blonde hair graced her features as her gaze was fixed on the person in front of her, trying to get an idea of what he was holding back, trying to figure out why he was so different as what she had seen for the last couple of weeks. His hair colour was unmistakably the same salmon pink, but there were no horns, no scales, no murderous aura nor claws… When she would have met him today, there would be no doubt that they could've become friends as he seemed like a nice guy concerned enough to care for his friends. His posture was the one of a well-trained mage as his outfit showed enough skin to see his sculpted muscles. Her mind was sending her warnings as they were standing only two meters apart, but she tried to ignore them as he didn't do anything to her to be as distrusting she was acting towards him. She couldn't answer his question, it was weird to have him help her when he was the person who tried to kill her in her sleep… He put a step in her direction while asking if she was okay, but memories of her nightmares came back and she backed away.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me, Luigi."

She overcame the warnings of her mind and tried to get some sound out of her mouth louder than her own fear.

"Are you cold? Your whole body is shivering, maybe we can continue this inside?"

He started turning to get back inside and she finally found her voice back.

"I… I don't think I can…"

It was nearly a whisper, but he turned around and looked at her with a surprised and wondering expression. It seemed as though he wondered what she wanted to say.

"You can't? Are your feet frozen to the floor? I have fire magic you know, I can free you in a second. Let's see-"

When he took another step in her direction, she backed away again holding her hand in front of her in a reflex.

"I'm not frozen to the floor, see? It's just… I… I don't think I can be in one room with you."  
"Is it because I bumped into you? I said I was sorry already."  
"No, it's not that, it's…"

It seemed so weird to say it, as though it was a cheap flirt but she had to say it or she was just a weird girl who was being difficult.

"It's what?"  
"This isn't the first time we meet."  
"Really? I wouldn't forget you if we would have met before."  
"I… You… You appeared in my dreams."

Saying it sounded so silly as she saw him wonder and her mind went back to normal as she wanted to convince him it was real. Her posture towards him changed as she knew he wouldn't believe it.

"You're a weird one Luigi. If that was a joke then it's a weird one."  
"No it's real! I mean, you are in my nightmares for 4 weeks on a row and it's always the same one… the last one was different but that was because Gray… Forget that, it comes down to it that you're there… trying to kill me... Every night again…"

A moment of silence passed and she couldn't read his expression. Would he get why she was acting like this? That it's just her own head who refused to reach for his helping hand and stay? She wanted him to get it, to understand why she was acting like she did but he suddenly turned towards the road in front of the house. Lucy followed his gaze and saw two people walking towards the place where Lucy and Natsu were standing. Natsu sniffed the air and he growled, which send a shiver down Lucy's spine.

"Stay behind me."

Not heeding Lucy's warning, he walked to a spot in front of her, a mere metre away from her and Lucy didn't know what was going on. He was so close to her and seemed tense as the persons came closer. When she looked at them, she recognised Juvia's blue hair.

"Oh it's alright, that's Juvia. The person next to her is probably the one who wanted to teach me more about my magic."  
"They are probably not what you think they are. That man is the Emperor's general who killed hundreds of innocent people last year. He- he's not a friend of us."

When Natsu was done talking, they stopped in front of the two mages and most of the features of the man were hidden beneath the hood of his cape but he was a tall and lean man. When Lucy looked at Juvia, she saw a welcoming face.

"Hey Lucy! Everything alright? We've been looking for you. This is the person I told you about, he knows a lot about celestial magic and he wanted to meet you. Who's your friend?"

Lucy wanted to answer, but Natsu was the first one to talk and he seemed to ignore Juvia and directed his question straight at the male: "What are you doing here? I thought we were done dealing with you guys."

The man pulled his hood off his head and smiled sadly at Natsu.

"We came for the girl, Natsu. I'm not searching for trouble."  
"What do you want from her?"  
"She's a celestial mage if you noticed, I can train her."  
"Until she becomes just like you? Over my dead body."  
"Look Natsu, I didn't think I would run into you guys. Let the girl decide for her own."

Natsu seemed to think of letting it go when he looked at Lucy, but he couldn't.

"You sick bastard. Aren't you even trying to be ashamed for what you did? You knew Lisanna was still there. You KNEW she was bringing those people to safety."

When he said that, his hands started showing small flares of fire and Lucy heard the heartfelt emotion in his voice when he spoke.

"You disappeared like nothing happened. You just left her there…"  
"Natsu, don't be stupid. I did what I was ordered to do."  
"Do you blindly jump off a bridge if you were ordered to?!"  
"I don't have time for this, take a step back."  
"I won't."  
"Don't try me Natsu, you know what I can do. Stubbornness isn't at place here."  
"I won't let you make her one of your puppets for the army."  
"You leave me no choice then."

The man made some signs in the air and pointed to Natsu, which created a magic circle around him and Lucy was near the edge in the circle. She tried to step out of it, but there seemed to be an invisible wall. Natsu seemed to lose all control and fire engulfed both of his hands.

"Don't come crying afterwards Jellal, or Siegrain, whatever you call yourself these days, you started it. Now who's the pity one?"

The man named Jellal turned his hands and Juvia walked towards him to stop him, but he pushed her away.

"Jellal stop! Lucy is in your magic circle!"

Jellal didn't hear it but Natsu did while the sky split open to show several planets who collected a light for the giant impact. Natsu looked behind him to see that Lucy was indeed standing in the circle. Acting on instinct, he diminished his flames and pulled Lucy closer to cover her for the coming attack. He was holding her under him and a second later, the attack was released on them. Lucy felt the hit as her leg seemed to be stabbed by several blades invisible blades in the light and her body was pushed lower by Natsu's weight which was pushed down from the attack while he growled in pain. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew her leg hurt as hell because it wasn't covered by her protector. That meant that Natsu got the full attack while protecting her. His growl wasn't terrifying anymore. It represented his pain and she didn't know what to feel. His grip felt warm as his strong arms surrounded her. The attack stopped and she noticed some tears falling on the ground as Natsu pulled back and she realised they were from her. He smiled the biggest smile she'd ever seen while a stream of blood ran down the side of his face.

"I'm sorry about the close proximity while you're scared of me. Are you okay?"

Lucy nodded while more tears flowed down her cheeks. How could this person still be concerned about her? She didn't even mention her leg, it was nothing compared to what he got to deal with.

"Let's talk later, okay? I got to deal with this guy first."

He swayed a bit whilst standing upright. Lucy thought he wouldn't be able to fight and it was mainly because he protected her… When he turned around, she saw his clothes ripped and the flesh beneath it was covered in blood from the impact. Her instinct kicked in. This guy wouldn't be able to win like this. She pushed herself up and reached for her keys. This asked for one of her most powerful keys and she hoped it would last enough to give some damage. She called out to the universe while holding her key in the air and bringing it down: "Gate of the lion, I open thee! Loke!"

A yellow light shined bright as the spirit she summoned crossed time and space to stand mere seconds later in front of her in a costume as always.

"You called princess? Did you miss me?"  
"Loke, charge at that guy!"  
"The power of love shines brighter than the enemy! Everything for you my love!"

Loke charged forward with his Regulus Impact in a speed faster than light and hit the opponent who didn't flinch much like Gray used to in their training, but the attack certainly left an impact. Lucy didn't know how powerful this man must be to not sway one bit after that attack. He smiled gently at Lucy saying that she still needed to learn a lot about her magic before that would have any effect on him.

"It's alright Luigi, I got this."

Natsu's fists were surrounded by fire again and he charged at the man. The battle had begun and Lucy backed away until she stood against a wall. The attack had no effect and if this Jellal person would take advantage of Natsu's injured back, it would be all over. She heard a voice and saw Juvia motioning for her to come to her, she took a few steps but stopped. Lucy didn't know what to believe anymore. In reality people did what they wanted, they didn't help her because she was an heir to an estate. They tricked her and she fell for it. She got distracted by the voice of her loyal spirit.

"It's too dangerous Lucy! Let's get out of here!"  
"No Loke, I'm staying. Let's help where we can."

When Juvia noticed that Lucy wasn't coming towards her, she looked sad and turned away, avoiding the fight and returning to her town. Her job was accomplished. She delivered the girl and that was it. It was Jellal's own fault that he hurt her and was caught up in a fight, she had nothing to do with it.

As Lucy followed the fight, she was impressed by Natsu's strength. Although he had just been hit by a powerful attack, he was still fighting. She also noticed the changes and her heartbeat went faster as she saw her nightmare coming to life. On his face were traces of small scales. Nothing more, merely four scales on each cheek. But if it was possible to gain features like that, he could also gain horns and claws…  
A shockwave hit her and Loke was sent back to the spirit world when she was thrown against the wall. She tried to remain conscious when her vision started to fail. Her leg hurt again from being thrown against the wall and she saw that Jellal took one look at the one who caused the shockwave before retreating. The redheaded woman was shocked to see Jellal, but looked at Natsu and wanted to help him up, but he pulled himself upright and went to Lucy to see if she was ok.  
The fight was done. The redheaded woman saved them. She felt the adrenaline leaving her body and without willing to, her muscles relaxed. Natsu caught her before she fell on the floor. The last thing she saw was the gentle and worried smile of the man she had feared for so many weeks while his scales disappeared. A warm feeling came over her, maybe she didn't have to be so afraid anymore. The last thing she noticed were his warm and gentle arms who lifted her up and seemed to carry her back inside before everything turned dark.

 **Title: Beth Crowley – The Dark**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	10. Tell me what you need

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

No one would stop him. He looked to the time lacrima again and another minute had passed. Lucy was gone for too long, who was he to trust the strangers who said she was alright? He looked at his stuff and all was still there. They had offered him a drink, but he had told them he wasn't thirsty. Truth be told, a glass of water would be nice but he was getting more paranoia by the minute. Maybe they would put something in the glass to keep him here. He thought about leaving but that seemed rather hard with two whole backpacks to carry along. So the next thing which came to his mind was to ran outside as fast as he could and block the door with his ice magic. A sigh escaped as he thought how silly it was, the S-class mage would definitely be faster than him. He already heard about the lightning speed of the lightning dragon slayer. It already passed 6 o'clock and Lucy still wasn't back. They told him the both of them would be back by 5, but no trace was found. He asked Mirajane if she had a room for him, joking about the hard ground in the woods and hoping she would lead him to one. She didn't argue and told him with a smile that there was still room on the first floor. He took his bags and she led him to the room when he discarded the offers of the thunder tribe to stay and drink some beers with them. When he was alone, he waited for another 10 minutes before making his move. He opened the window and reached for the wall next to it. With his two hands he moulded his magic, only seen by a cold air around his hands and when they touched the wall, ice ran down it creating some kind of improvised stairs. He packed one bag with the essentials and climbed down. When he succeeded in leaving the bar behind him, he walked towards the direction the forest was situated according to several customers of the bar. When he walked past the bar and some other houses, thoughts of Lucy passed his mind. The medicine for her nightmares was the first thing he had packed from her bag. He was just hoping she wasn't getting herself in trouble… The real world couldn't be more different from the Heartfilia mansion. No one had to be friendly to her here, because her name meant nothing in these towns. He just hoped there weren't guys with wrong intentions who would find her wandering through the streets. He shook his head and told himself not to think that way. When he focused on the road, someone was coming his way which disturbed his thoughts. How closer he got, the more he recognised the blue hair. But he didn't see any blonde hair next to it, not even a cloaked figure…

"Hey! Juvia isn't it? Isn't Lucy with you?"

Juvia looked up at the sweet voice she missed all day. Couldn't he just worry about her instead of wondering about that celestial mage? He ran towards her and stopped in front of her to ask more about the situation and she was nowhere near the thought of willing to tell him everything.

"Is she alright? What happened?"  
"I… We…"

She didn't want to continue as she knew he wouldn't like what she was going to say. But his posture told her all she needed to know as he seemed too worried to think about anything else. The picture of her and him that she formed in her head shattered right then and there. She put on her professional mask and smiled sadly at him while reporting the details of her job like she always did, trying to leave out the emotion that was boiling in her stomach. She locked her jealousy away and tried to help her dream boy as much as she could.

"I found the person who was going to teach her, but Lucy was gone from the spot I told her to stay."  
"She's lost?!"  
"Let me finish. When we found her, there was this dragon slayer with pink hair who-"  
"Wait, a boy with pink hair?"  
"Yeah, he didn't let us get to her and then there was a fight and-"  
"Did he have scales? And horns? Or tattoos?"

Juvia was getting annoyed by his questions and looked at him like he was asking her nonsense. She wasn't sure why needed to know such details, it's not like he had seen him before right?

"No, he was just a dragon slayer with pink hair."

Gray seemed to think and eventually he took hold of her shoulders and looked serious at her. His dark orbs were so hypnotising she could drown in them if she didn't come to her senses. She focused and tried to hear what he was saying while she was distracted from his firm grip on her shoulders. Those hands would be capable to do so much more with her body… A blush appeared on her cheeks when she felt the odd feeling in her stomach and she finally listened to what he had to say. He asked if she knew where Lucy was and if she could take him there. Juvia didn't know why he was being so friendly instead of raging against her, but the thought of travelling with him made her heart beat faster. Even if it was for this small journey. She felt something she never felt before when she was near him… She couldn't explain it, not love on first sight but his compassion towards her was mesmerizing. It was a long time ago that someone had done or said something sweet to her like him without expecting something back... So she told him that he could count on her and they walked towards the dragon slayer's house a couple of towns ahead. Maybe he was just being friendly because she was the only one he knew with the knowledge of where Lucy was, but she enjoyed every minute of it. She tried to make the most out of it while he was still nice to her. They didn't talk much, but they shared some snacks when they paused for a couple of minutes. When they reached the mansion, she didn't know what to do. She knew who was inside but didn't know how Gajeel would react on her return. She wasn't proud of what she did five years ago so she hadn't set a foot near him or the others. She would rather be alone than face the fury of her friends… maybe he didn't want to see her again so she turned to Gray to say her goodbye. Gray knocked casually on the door to her surprise and Juvia had no time to leave before a familiar face opened the door. She stood still as she absorbed his features. He had some more piercings in his nose, his black hair was a bit longer and he had different clothes, but it was unmistakably her old friend.

"So busy today at this house! What do you want?"  
"I'm Gray Fullbuster and I was wondering if Lucy is here?"

The tall man grinned and laughed at his last name.

"Fullbuster? ... pfff hahaha! Didn't hear that one before! Haha that's a great ice breaker you got there buddy! Oh well… It so happens that my girl picked up a stray with that name and-"

When the guy finally noticed Juvia he stopped his sentence and blinked to see if he was dreaming.

"Juvia?"  
"Hey Gajeel."  
"Are you… Is this real?"  
"I just had to point the direction for this guy, so I'll be going right now then. I won't bother you any longer."

Before she turned to leave, she was lifted up by strong arms and she almost chocked in the embrace from Gajeel. Surprised at his reaction, Juvia didn't know how to react.

"You're here! Hey Levy, Juvia is here! Wow girl you've been gone for a long time. Not even a letter or anything! I thought I taught you some manners!"  
"I thought you didn't want me here."  
"What's that for rubbish? For that stupid argument? Still as emotional as always I see. Come inside! And your friend can come too!"

When they walked inside, the first thing Gray saw was the flash of pink who was standing with his back towards the front door facing something. When he looked at the couch, he saw Lucy laying on it and she seemed in pain, so he rushed towards her and asked to the pink guy what the hell he had done to her. He felt her forehead and she had a high fever. The guy told him to back off and that some dragon slayer was on her way to treat her wound. When he looked at the man, he saw that his own torso was wrapped in bandages and other wounds were also treated with first aid. Lucy had the same bandages but only on her leg.

"So you do exist. How do I know that you didn't do this?"  
"What's that supposed to mean? Otherwise I wouldn't be standing here you jerk. You can ask her who did it when she wakes up. I'm Natsu by the way, you impolite popsicle."

Lucy mumbled in her sleep and Gray knew it wasn't from pain. He recognised the mumbling. She was back to dreaming the all too familiar nightmare.

"Is she also some kind of dragon slayer?"

Gray looked at Natsu and wondered why he would ask such a stupid thing.

"She's a celestial mage, not a dragon slayer."  
"Weird, because she knows the language."  
"You mean that you know what she's mumbling in her sleep?"  
"Yeah sure, it's the old language from the dragons. I learned it from my father. It would be bad if I couldn't understand it, right Gajeel?"

Gajeel was busy with talking to Juvia and Levy, so Natsu lifted his shoulders and dismissed what he was saying. Gray pulled him back to the conversation by asking him to translate it. Natsu could tell it was hard for him to ask for help. Great, another person who didn't like him. He decided to help nevertheless.

"She's saying something like: Stop you death of shadows, dragon guard your heart. But it's rubbish, she's always saying the same thing."  
"And she doesn't wake up?"  
"Nope, it's been going like that for two hours straight."

Gray didn't know what this was. He ignored the fact that the embodiment of Lucy's nightmares was standing right next to him and focused on Lucy. She had the same dream, but she didn't wake up. How could they get her out of that loophole? When he would let her take the medicine, would it help? Or would it get worse? Dreams were on another plain and he couldn't there. She was fighting in her dreams and he couldn't help. Suddenly the doorbell rang and there seemed to be a small girl in front of the door. The others welcomed her and led her to Lucy, so it seemed that she was the healer. Gray backed away to give her the space she needed and she started working on the wound of Lucy's leg. When he talked to the others it seemed that there were now three dragon slayers with each a cat for their own, who knows why. Levi seemed to be a script mage and he already knew Juvia. The redheaded woman was very quiet and was eating strawberry cake, it seemed as though she was distracted by her mind while she was eating and she didn't say anything. The others told her that Erza was a Recuip mage.

He looked around and concluded this was a very powerful group. So he was wondering who had been able to do this damage on the dragon slayer. Were they not there when he fought? That would mean that Lucy had been alone with the pink guy before they got attacked. What was he playing? And the attacker would also be strong enough to fight a dragon slayer, according to legends they possessed the true power of a dragon which could explain the scales in Lucy's nightmare. If Lucy would become an apprentice of that guy who attacked them, she would definitely become a lot more powerful but he didn't know if that was the best option seen the circumstances.

 **Title: Alex Clare – Tell me what you need**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	11. Control

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

 **To all you readers who are bearing with me, thanks for waiting! I was a little distressed, because the ideas in my head arealmost exploding. So the base is set, let the party begin!**

The river flows across the landscape at a steady pace. Its course has changed a couple of times over the years, but its goals stays the same. It provides enough water for the southern forest to grow. The sunlight provides life to the forest. Birds are chirping, squirrels are hiding and bees gather honey from the flowers. It was a quiet and peaceful place for travellers who went to the city. Situated almost 10 km from the castle up in the North, it is a place to escape the worries of daily life. People come here to rest. To feel connected to nature. But everything seemed dull to the indifferent man walking through the forest. He was paying no attention whatsoever to the animals nor the fauna surrounding him. His black robe waved in the wind as he walked on towards the biggest tree of the forest. It stands in the centre of the forest, near the river. It was an ancient tree and he believed it to be a sequoia. It was the only thing in this world that has seen so much. Not enough to match his memory, but it has seen more than other living beings. The leaves rustled in the breeze. Beautiful pink flowers graced the field around the tree. These flowers attratced butterflies who rested on the tree's trunk. The man sighed, not even noticing the beauty of the place. He looked around, deciding on what he had to do, like he did so many times before. Conjuring a strategy to avoid disaster. He had to be carefull or these past hundred of years will have been for nothing. A strategy was forming in his head, trying to see the different outcomes with the pawns he had. After some time, the sun only enlightened a small red glow of sunset. Evening was covering the land and a figure appeared from the trees. It was one of his pawns, Jellal, and it didn't look like it went well. When Jellal reached the man, he put his hand over his heart and bowed.

"Your majesty."  
"Jellal."

The man didn't see any mage next to him, which meant the first step of his plan already failed. Like he predicted. When pawns don't do their job, a plan B has to be ready. So this time, plan B meant to approach the situation from a different angle. The girl will want to learn more about her magic, like Layla was eager to learn more about it. He already made up his plan, but he wanted to hear Jellal's excuse. A powerful mage with heavenly body magic who failed to bring him a celestial mage. A celestial mage who didn't even know the full length of her magic.

"Your majesty, the mission failed. Juvia brought me to the celestial mage but she was already with Natsu, the fire dragon slayer. And as you know, he isn't too fond of me."  
"You weren't able to get past him?"  
"… Titania was also there, your majesty. I didn't want to make a fuss…"

The small hope building in the man's chest ebbed away. It was Titania who stopped Jellal. Natsu wasn't ready yet… A small trace of fear tried to make itself known. What if it wouldn't work? He ignored it. He couldn't give up now. He couldn't wait another hundred years. He looked at Jellal and anger tried to surface. But to his disgust, the man in front of him was still a useful pawn. Jellal has a special kind of magic, very powerful and connected to the celestial kind. That's why he couldn't destroy him. Jellal possessed certain skills and contacts he could use in his advantage. Jellal waited, saying nothing when the emperor made up his mind.

"Up until a week ago, I thought my last chance died along with Layla. She was one of the few powerful celestial mages left. But then her daughter appeared. A celestial mage nonetheless… she gifted me another chance of salvation. Up until an hour ago, I had no idea on how to introduce her to Natsu. But you tell me they already met. Funny how things work out. Well, let's continue then. You will teach her to become as strong as her mother. going to try something else. Give her this."

The emperor took an old book from under his clothes and gave it to Jellal. He took the item from him and looked at it. It was a book covered in brown leather, tied by a brown leather string with a symbol for the sun attached to it.

"This is from her mother; it has her handwriting and tips on how to improve her magic. Give it to her, but go unnoticed. When she sees it, she'll know what it is. Then you'll talk to her when she's alone. Lure her in with the thought that you heard about her mother. Layla Heartfilia, the great celestial mage who fought in the war. Say you gave her this after you found it in the empire's library."  
"Alright, I'll report to your majesty as soon as possible."  
"Great. Now leave. Fast."

Jellal knew what that meant. He didn't hesitate one bit and started running towards the forest, searching for a way out. The conversation about Natsu had made Zeref nostalgic. Happiness overwhelmed him as he thought about the salvation in the future. The fate set in motion by this daughter of Layla... and the thought of reuniting with Natsu at his full potential soon... He only had to wait a bit longer. Jellal would do his job right this time and he could focus on Natsu. The celestial mage could be self-taught when she received Layla's diary. Everything would turn out right… Soon... Jellal ran fast. He knew there wasn't much time left and disappeared to lower ground behind a rock formation. Not a second too soon, everything went quiet as a gulf of black smoke passed by. He made it. He waited another ten minutes in shock, hoping the majesty's tantrum would end with one wave. Zeref looked around. Every leave and flower petal robbed of its life. They fell down and covered the ground. Together with every skunk, squirrel and bird found in a radius of 1 km around the emperor. A veil of silence and dead covered the once vivid southern forest. Not even ants survived. After another look at the dead forest around him, Zeref didn't care. He saw so much death in his life that this was nothing. He had felt every single heartbeat and life force before it died by his magic. Felt the second of fear in every being before the instant death. Three travellers were on their way to his kingdom. At the wrong place in the wrong time, now never reaching their destination. He knew it was better not to care. Caring only made things worse, so he started walking back to the castle. As an emperor, your presence was crucial to get the amount of army and freedom to do the hell you wanted in this country. Starting a war was only part of the job. He stopped and looked at the sky, thinking of Natsu. Nostalgia hit him again.

"Soon, we'll reunite once again… I found you. The only thing left to do is release you when you're not strong enough. It's a different time Natsu, a different empire than ours, but it will be the same graveyard as it was that day. They'll all pay for what they did to you. I'll make this war worthwhile, revenge will be our victory. I should warn you not to get attached, but you have to make your own mistakes. I've seen it all before… The first casualty of war… is innocence. I'm sorry Natsu, but people aren't rain, or snow, or autumn leaves… they do not look pretty when they fall down."

His aura materialised again in black smoke surrounding him. He pushed away his thoughts before losing control again. He had to keep cool. If he couldn't control himself, how would he be able to control the fate set out for this world? His plans were more important than nostalgia. The future of humankind was in his hands… and he would crush it without a second thought. He would crush it soon, like others crushed his life so many years ago. Everyone forgot the tragedy and the pain with passing decades, but he didn't. People were less worth than pigs and he would make them pay. Everything felt clear to him as he imagined how everything would end in time. It was his fault. His fault it happened that day. It was his fault that his life fell apart. So he would never lose control again, he couldn't afford it. Fate was set in motion and he had to play the cards given. The aura disappeared as his eyes turned red, full of hate and determination. It was time. Finally.

 **Title: Halsey - Control (Male version, Nightcore)**

 **I have a list of all the songs on YouTube (to give you the right versions which helped me write this chapter). It can help you too with your stories ;) The list is at this link:** **watch?v=D7jVqok1bqw &list=PL6ak0PnPyrOrPcY3Hne4R-jb2rxk8_mnZ** **or type "Fanfiction remember to forget" in YouTube :p**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	12. Bad Dream

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

It was already 11 pm. Gray sat on the door threshold, he wasn't able to watch Lucy suffer anymore. She was shivering and murmuring like she always did. But this time it didn't stop. He sighed. It was going to be a long night. Wendy had taken care of Lucy's wound, but she was still caught up in her coma-like sleep. Wendy was now trying everything to relieve Lucy's distress, but it had already been more than an hour. Gray was getting impatient. What if Wendy wasn't as good as they say? She was still a little girl. What if Lucy stayed in her nightmare forever? It was already hard enough for her to see whether she was in a dream or in reality… Gray sighed again. He took the bottle of medicine out of his pocket and wondered if it would help. He could try it if Wendy wasn't able to help. He didn't know if the effects would be different if she got it when she was already asleep, but it can't get worse right? Natsu opened the front door and Gray put away the bottle before he noticed.

"So here you are, shouldn't you be with your girlfriend?"

A blush appeared on Gray's face when he heard the insinuation. It sounded nice, even if it wasn't true.

"She's not my girlfriend, we know each other for a very long time."  
"Is that so? Well, lucky you."  
"Yeah I guess."  
"So what brings untrained mages to this city? She couldn't fight, but she looked brave enough trying."

Something triggered in Gray about the way Natsu said that. Yes, Lucy was brave. He remembered all those nights she couldn't sleep. And if only this guy wouldn't exist... Anger coursed through his veins. Lucy would still be her joyful self without those cursed nightmares if this guy was gone. It could be that the dream was more vivid because she knows Natsu exists in real life. He can hurt her. Gray stood up and looked at Natsu, trying to figure him out.

"What game are you playing? Putting her in danger and then caring for her? Try one of those two you moron, not both."  
"Hey for an ice mage you need to cool down."  
"Yeah? What if she doesn't wake up? What if she stays like this because of you? You've done enough already!"  
"Hey! It wasn't my fault Jellal had her in his line of attack! I protected her you asshole! She would be dead if I didn't!"  
"Then why didn't you?"  
"I'm a dragon slayer, I can handle it, she can't!"  
"She will die either way if you stay near her!"  
"What's your problem with me dude? I don't remember pissing you off."  
"Blame it on natural opposites flame brain."

Gray didn't know if this dragon slayer was playing a trick on him or if he told the truth and didn't want to harm Lucy. They scowled at each other for a long time. Wendy interrupted them. They both turned to her, trying to disguise their worry for the blonde girl asleep on the couch.

"Can you two stop bickering already? I figured it out, the thing causing Lucy's nightmares is her own magic."

Gray frowned at the girl, not knowing what she wanted to say. He looked at Natsu, but he seemed as clueless as he was. So he asked Wendy what she meant by that.

"Well, she's the one doing this to herself, so she is the one to get it to stop."  
"Why would she do this to herself? So you're saying you can't do anything?"  
"There are ways, but I'm not skilled enough in the understanding of celestial magic to help her right now."  
"Damnit. Alright, I've had enough. That leaves us with one option…"

Gray pushed Wendy aside and walked towards Lucy on the couch. Wendy treated her wound well, but sweat still trickled Lucy's skin. He took the bottle from his pocket and opened Lucy's mouth a bit, giving her two drops of the medicine. Wendy and Natsu were immediately at his side, wondering what he was doing. When Wendy saw the bottle, she took it from Gray. But it was already too late.

"Where did you get this?!"  
"I bought it in an apothecary.. It's medicine for her nightmares."  
"The council forbid this magic, do you know what-"

Lucy stopped mumbling and a peaceful expression was on her face. They all looked at her. Tension creeping up on them, wondering if it helped. Gray and Natsu wondered what Wendy had meant by forbidden magic, but she was too occupied to look at her patient. There was one clear sentence Lucy spoke before her eyes flew open.

"Vakna eldunarí."

A yellow iris replaced her brown one. Around her iris, her eye was orange with twelve small yellow dots. Natsu looked at Gajeel and Wendy in distress and confusion. Gray was still occupied with Lucy's eyes. They seemed so unnatural... Was this his fault? Did he put her at risk by giving her the medicine? He looked at the dragon slayers for a translation of the sentence. Something that could help him understand the situation they were in. But they almost didn't want to tell him.

"Well? What did she say?"  
Natsu didn't even look at Gray, but asked Gajeel: "I thought it was only a myth… Does this mean it exists?"  
"Natsu… Anyone can have ravings when they're sick, she could've heard about it somewhere."  
"Yeah you're right, but what if it's out there? What if we can find it?"  
"I wouldn't put my hopes up. It can be everywhere. We don't even know if and how it works."  
"We'll ask her when she wakes up."  
Wendy interrupted their conversation: "If she wakes up. What she's doing now is dangerous. I hope her magic can take it. If not…"  
"Can everybody stop being mysterious and tell me what the f*ck is wrong?!"

Surprised by Gray's outburst, everyone looked at him. A moment passed and Wendy tried to find words to explain it, but she couldn't find any. Levy walked towards the books she had brought and took one small one out of it and gave it to Gray with a wink.

"She's speaking of eldunarí, it's a dragon legend. I've learned a thing or two by living with a dragon slayer. It's a gem and legend says a dragon can store it's conscious in it. So it can be that the memories of the dragons are in that gem. It's a fair share of old knowledge..."  
"But it's only a legend, right?"

Everyone's attention went back to Lucy when her keys jingled. They tried to free themselves from her belt. No one dared to move an inch. When the keys got loose, they floated above her, lighting up the 9 golden keys on their ring Lucy had in her possesion. She talked again and even if it was but a whisper, all dragon slayers heard it loud and clear.

"Eka kausta eom ono, ládrin gata abr du weldenvarden."

And with that, a ray of light blinded everyone for a split second. When Gray looked at the couch he couldn't believe it. She was gone. She left a lot like her spirits always do but he didn't even know where to…

"What… what happened?"  
Natsu concluded what Wendy said: "She used her magic when she was asleep. She said she was going to the guarding forest."  
"And where the hell is that?"  
"I don't know popsicle. Stop asking questions and try to figure something out for yourself alright?"  
"I'm sorry I don't speak dragon, ash breath!"  
"Well, you know her longer than we do, do you know where she would go?!"  
"I… I don't know alright!"  
"Fine, then trust us to find her. Stay here, we'll be back."  
"I'm going with you."  
"Not with me you aren't."

Natsu stormed outside and the others followed. Levy and Erza stayed in the mansion in case Lucy would come to her senses and came back. Gajeel went with Juvia, Gray with Wendy and Natsu insisted on going alone. They would go in all directions and the dragon slayers would pick up her scent if they were close enough. They had lacrima's to contact each other in case they found her. When Gray calmed down, it surprised him that these people were searching for a girl they don't know. But he could use their help.

 _Her nightmare was continuing for the third time, over and over again. She realised it after the second run. It was as if she couldn't wake up until she remembered something. Something to free her from this loophole. Why did she have to fall asleep?! Her fear overwhelmed her when the claws of Natsu closed around her neck. But this time it didn't start all over again. She was still here. His claw was still around her neck. Struggling, she begged herself to wake up. This couldn't go on any further... She couldn't get any air and her mind was becoming fuzzy due to the lack of oxygen. Why didn't she wake up?! Her nightmare had never gone further than this point. She had never been this close to death and it scared her. What if this was reality? What if she was going to die right now? She struggled harder, but his grip only tightened. She tried to speak with the little breath she could muster and she hoped he would hear it._  
 _"Please Natsu, it's me."_  
 _His eyes flared and anger covered his whole face: "Stop it!"_  
 _He threw her away with the massive force of an enraged and dangerous dragon. She stopped in her flight by a tree and she heard a loud crack before she fell down on the ground. For a minute, everything turned black... As peaceful as that darkness was, her eyes opened again and she saw Natsu flaring in the distance. His flames as hot as hell and his black tattoos lighting up from his red hot dragon scaled skin. The flame he was, seemed to come towards her. She tried to catch her breath, but her throat felt on fire as every breath failed to clear her fuzzy mind. Coughing, she tried to breath._  
 _"You can't trick me!"_  
 _She didn't know what he was talking about, but she needed more time... more time to catch her breath... more time to figure out what he meant... more time to let her broken bones heal... just... more time to think on how to survive. She was glad he had thrown her a considerable distance away from him. He walked towards her, knowing full well she wouldn't be moving any time soon. But she couldn't let it end here. She couldn't die here. This was only a dream, it could be reality, but nothing of that mattered if she were to die here. Adrenaline coursed through her body. She gathered her courage. She forced her muscles to move her arms and legs, falling back down as pain shot through her body. Come on Luce, get up! Trying again, she got up in a sitting position and felt agonizing pain in her back where she had hit the tree. She didn't know if she could walk… Wouldn't it be easier to let him end it? If this was the meaning of her dream, then he wouldn't stop. Anger and rage engulfed Natsu's sight. What did she ever do wrong to get him to change into this? She could already feel the heat, even though he was still far away. Her pain numbed her sences, making her sleepy as she saw the irony of sleeping within a dream. The pain eased away... A figure was standing in front of her, more like floating mere inches above the ground. It was a young woman with beautiful blonde flowing hair. Her hair was so long it almost covered the woman's whole length. Two odd little wings stood on her head and she was smiling. Lucy couldn't pinpoint why, but she immediately felt at home. That bright smile dismissed all the pain still left and before she knew it, Lucy was standing up. The young woman pointed towards the forest and took hold of Lucy's hand. Lucy was so mesmerised by this being who looked so innocent and perfect. She almost forgot Natsu, almost.. She looked over her shoulder to see him enraged behind her. He was yelling something, but she didn't hear it. She followed the peaceful woman with the long blonde hair, hoping he wouldn't follow. She dared to break the silence and the moment her voice spoke, it seemed unworthy of speaking to this wonderful being, apparition or whatever serene image the young woman could be..._ _"Where are you taking me?"_ _The woman didn't say anything but led her through the forest to a small river. Everything was so peaceful here. She could stay here forever. They walked past the little stream and stopped a bit further at the entrance of a cave. It was a dark cave, but with the young woman on her side it didn't look threathening at all. The woman went in and Lucy wanted to follow, but when th woman let go of her hand, the heat came back. A claw grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. There was Natsu, he had tracked her down and now he grinned at her in a wicked smile._ _"Gotcha."_

Lucy woke up in anguish, sweat a loyal companion after waking up. She looked around in panic and she hoped no one was there in the dark. She hugged herself and remembered her dream. This time it was a close one. Her hand touched her neck where his claw had been and it hurt like hell. Scared is an understatement. If it was a dream, wounds and death should stay in it and wouldn't follow her into reality right? She looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Although it was dark and she only had the light of the moon, she concluded she was in a forest. Grass under her body, trees in her sight. She found her keys lying next to her and put them back on her belt where they belonged. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was being hit by that unknown powerful mage's attack...

When her adrenaline level lowered and she was a bit calmer again, she stood up. Looking around, she heard the sound of a small river and followed it. When she got there, she immediately recognised the river. It was exactly the same as the one from her dream, the one she crossed with that beautiful young woman... For the first time she wondered if her dream was trying to tell her something, guiding her somewhere... Panic overwhelmed her again as she remembered the outcome of her dream and all the dreams before. If this was real, then the other ones also were... She looked around, but there was no sign of any dragon-like Natsu here. She heard crickets and the rustlings of leaves, but no footsteps nor did she feel any heat. It seemed to be a normal forest. With normal sounds. And no floating people nor murderous dragon slayers. She didn't even know where she was... She could get lost. It seemed quite late in the night to try and move between bears and other animals. She could better stay in her spot. Gray would come and find her and she could go back to wherever they're going. Shadows moved and she wondered why it didn't scare her, the dark had always scared her when she was young. It could be because her recent dreams were darker than this shade of night, who knows? After a couple of minutes Lucy started to get cold and decided to trace back the same steps she took in her dream. This could be a dream in a dream, but she had to know what was in that cave. And a cave meant shelter for rain and wind, so that would be much better than standing here in the open. If some animal or rover would try to hurt her, she still had her keys to defend herself. It would be alright. She started moving and noticed her fatigue. She felt exhausted. It was a weird feeling, as though her dreams started to get control over her body in reality... This hasn't happened before...

 **Title: Ruelle – Bad Dream**

 **Thank you for reading!**


	13. Clarity

**Disclaimer: All rights of Fairy tail go to Hiro Mashima!**

 **Currently taking examinations but found some time to write! Yay! It's a small chapter, but I hope you enjoy it ;)**

"So, while the others are searching for the cute blonde stranger, could you please talk to me already?"

The sudden question surprised Juvia. They had been walking for what seemed to be half an hour into the city without any trace of Lucy yet. She knew this would come up. She had been avoiding anything but small talk in fear to have to explain. Gajeel insisted she'd go with him for the search and now the hard part was coming.

"Gajeel and Juvia are also searching, right?"  
"No, we're in the opposite direction of where her scent comes from. It's fading little by little since we left the house. We won't find her here."  
"So why did Gajeel go this way? Couldn't Gajeel tell Juvia sooner?"

Gajeel shifted his weight and crossed his arms while staring down at the blue haired woman in front of him. He was serious. She knew why he wanted them to be alone. She knew what he wanted to talk about. Juvia's mind went back to that time. Her biggest regret of her life up until now. The moment she discovered what she'd done… and the realisation she couldn't undo it. And now Gajeel wanted to know how and why…

"Juvia. Tell me. What happened that day?"

"You left. No message, no word. What happened?"  
"… well if Juvia won't find Lucy here, Juvia will choose another direction."

When Juvia tried to pass Gajeel, he held her by her upper arm. She looked up at the only man she ever trusted in her whole life and he looked sad. As though he suffered from not knowing what went wrong. Not knowing how they could return to old times. She couldn't say it. If she would, he wouldn't understand. He would hate her. He wouldn't want to see her ever again, even though they were like brother and sister to each other a long time ago.

"Gajeel, don't. Don't let Juvia say it."  
"I won't judge. I want to hear it from you."

Juvia untangled her arm and stood in front of her friend. Every man in the world had disappointed her. Every single one of them except Gajeel and Gray who had shown her kindness. Gajeel was different as he was no love interest of her, he appeared to be family when she had none.

"Fine. Juvia will leave if you never want to see Juvia again after this."

She took a deep breath and arranged her thoughts. From where should she start? How could she explain her situation in a short summary? He would never want to see her again… Memories flashed by and her eyes started filling up with water.

"When the troops of the Alvarez Empire overwhelmed Juvia that day, Gajeel was out of range. Jellal had a solution. Back then Juvia… Juvia thought the village was already evacuated. Gajeel… it's Juvia's fault that Levy… and Lisanna… It's Juvia's fault. Juvia performed a unison raid with Jellal … Juvia has taken Levy's magic. Juvia has stripped it away with the magic from all the dark wizards like it was the same kind…"

She was already crying. Gajeel stood there, not moving at all and she couldn't handle it anymore. She buried her face in her hands, hoping he would be gone if she stopped crying. Tears flooded her hands, gasping for air she let it all out. The guilt, the loneliness, the pain, it was too much. She couldn't hold it in in front of him.

"... Jellal was too strong for Juvia. He depleted Juvia's magic. Juvia now has a mild form of Magic Deficiency Disease. The emperor can help Juvia… if Juvia does this one last job ..."

Juvia looked up and to her surprise she saw Gajeel, still standing on his original spot. She didn't know what he was thinking and tears streamed over her cheeks. She couldn't handle it if he would become angry, but it was his right. She stole the magic of his woman so she doesn't blame him for being mad at her. Juvia tried to dry her tears and the feeling of arms around her surprised her. Gajeel hugged her close to him.

"It's not your fault Juvia. It's the fault of the man who gave the order. Levy is fine, she can't use her magic anymore but every year her magic recovers a bit more. Is this the silly reason you didn't visit? You crazy emotional Juvia. Still as fragile as always I see."

The tears started flowing again.

* * *

Gray walked further in silence. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. Wendy only stopped to smell the air and then she led him further and further in the forest. He didn't ask any questions. They were a waste of time and Lucy needed them. It was his fault for causing this in the first place. Only because he didn't trust Wendy to help before. So he wouldn't stand in her way this time. She knew more than him and he recognised that. It was only his nature to distrust people. Everyone needs something from you when they're friendly. They can prove you wrong, but in most cases that diagnose was correct. They didn't talk about his stupidity. Wendy didn't explain why the medicine was forbidden magic and what it can do to you. He focused on the search. Tried to ban all thoughts, but they came back. Where was Lucy? Was she scared? Cold? All alone? Did someone attack her? Wendy stopped his train of thoughts.

"She's not far anymore, we could find her by the morning."

Gray nodded in her direction, but she wasn't looking at him so he managed a small "ok". Wendy stopped and he nearly bumped into her. She abruptly turned around and managed a frown.

"What were you thinking anyway? I haven't talked about it because we had to find her, but she's my patient and your meddling got her in this lost state in the first place."  
"I… I thought it was the only way to make her nightmares go away."  
"That's all? You haven't used this before like this?"  
"No, only before she went to sleep. It works."  
"You know why that flask is forbidden magic?"

"It gives you the freedom to use your magic, without the limitations. No, let me rephrase that… it's… more like your magic uses you, not caring about your limitations. Your body can get worn out, but your magic does what you want to regardless."  
"So you mean-"  
"Yes, Lucy can have severe injuries and don't even feel it. That's why I was angry with you."

"Let's go, she's this way."

Gray swallowed by the thought. He hoped Lucy wouldn't go as far as her mother went with her magic, or he would never be able to forgive himself for it.

* * *

Natsu was so angry with the ice bastard he burned the grass as he ran towards that sweet strawberry smell he got to know recently. It was the only thing keeping him sane and kept him from burning a tree or two. That popsicle did something to her and he didn't even get what. He only knew he had to find her and keep her safe. It was a strange feeling. From the moment he saw her, something told him that he had to stay with her. With all that is going on, it would be better if she stayed as far away as possible but he didn't want that. She already got beaten up by Jellal. What else was he getting her into? It didn't matter. He had to find her and then she could decide what she wanted to do. Her scent was getting stronger and he fastened his pace. He stopped at a river and saw the tracks she didn't bother to cover. So she was no spy or something, otherwise she would know this kind of stuff. He followed her tracks and arrived at a cave. There were no other tracks yet. She most definitely went in there and didn't come out. He didn't hesitate and went in.

 **Thank you for reading!**


	14. Roots

**All rights go to Hiro Mashima!**

When Lucy got into the cave, she couldn't believe what her eyes told her brain. Instead of a normal cave, this one was completely decorated into a small minimalistic home. There was a table with a chair, some books on a shelf and there was even a small fire place with a chair in front of it.

"It looks so comfy… It's like a cave-house?"

She walked towards the table and a lot of books were thrown on it, opened on different pages. There was no dust on them. Maybe there was still a person living here? When looking at the research books, a small brown one with golden stitches and a sun embroidered on it got her attention. Somehow, it felt familiar… She picked it up and looked at the cover. It seemed to be a small notebook. When opening the lock, she couldn't believe her eyes and subconsciously sat down on the chair as her hand covered her mouth in disbelief. The notebook was handwritten, and she knew those curls, almost as elegant as the writer itself. It took her a moment to realise she had another diary from her mom in her hands. She read the first page and it seemed to be different from the one she already had. It didn't talk about the different ways to summon spirits or about the spells that a celestial mage can do. It spoke about her mother's life. As in a real diary. All her feelings, the things she went through… And it was about Lucy and her father, how he loved them both but couldn't really show it. Of how she was glad they protected the mansion with one of her spells… Wait, what? Protect the mansion? Lucy was confused. How in the world did the mansion need protection? She wanted to read further, but suddenly a figure came into the cave house. She was too slow to move away and sat there, waiting for the person to yell at her by entering his home. When she saw who came in, she couldn't believe her bad luck. The blue hair became visible when he shed his cloak and his muscles looked like they could fight her all day. He hung his cloak on a little pin in the wall by the door and noticed her. An awkward silence filled the space. He looked confused as to why she was here and then saw what she was holding. His interest was triggered.

"How in the world were you able to open that?"

Lucy looked down at the notebook in her hands and wondered why he would ask such a thing. She opened it like you would open any notebook, open the lock and flip the pages... Suddenly, the question of how he got it became more important and she reached for her keys with her right hand, holding her mother's diary in her left.

"How did you get a hold of this?! Don't try any spells! You know, like the other day… and… uhm… tell me the truth!"

When she heard what nonsense she said, she couldn't believe why her brain wasn't working normally. The person in front of her realised she only remembered him from his attack on her and he massaged his temples with one hand to find a way to explain her what he wanted to do. He sighed. Lucy thought she overstepped a line. It was obvious he was way more powerful than her and if he wanted to, he could turn her into dust.

"Please sit down, I'll explain and won't try anything, so you can let go of your keys."

Lucy didn't know what to do. She was in a cave with a man that attacked her earlier. Whatever she wanted to, she couldn't run for it as he was standing in front of the only way out. So, she sat down on the chair, still holding onto her keys.

"Alright, with keys it is… I'm Jellal and you probably know that already but what you're holding is your mother's diary. And I've been trying to open that thing all day and couldn't find any spell that worked. So how could you open it?"  
Lucy looked at the diary: "I just picked it up and started reading."  
Jellal seemed to think for a minute and then understanding graced his face.  
"It's a _blood tie_ … It must be. You know, your mother was a smart and powerful mage. Not many mages can pull that off. So, let me tell you something else. Although it seems that way, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to stop the emperor."

Lucy didn't know what she had to believe. For the next hour Jellal talked about how he gained the trust of the emperor. How he wronged his friends in the past to stop an invasion. He had things to do and decisions to make to take down the plans of the emperor for an upcoming war. It was a lot of information to take in, but she felt he didn't tell her everything. To stop the emperor, he needed to know what was in that diary. Her mother tried to help the emperor before but failed and was never seen again. He needed to know what went wrong to avoid it happening again.

"But now that I see it's a _blood tie_ , I can't possibly read it and I won't ask you to read it to me. I do suggest I train you. I don't practice celestial magic, only heavenly body magic but it's close enough to teach you your basic tricks in battle. If it comes to that…"

She didn't know what to do. She stood up, looking at the diary and at Jellal. He also stood up. Why didn't her mother tell her about this? Was this why she died? Did she ask too much of her magic trying to avoid an upcoming war? What's this talk about war anyway. This was the first time she heard it. Maybe he was only playing her, trying to gain her trust. It could be all lies to guide her like a puppet. She didn't know. But she would know a lot more if she read through the diary. Why was she here anyway? How did she end up in this situation? This wasn't her battle. She was just a girl running away from home, not ready to be thrown in the premises of an upcoming war.

"I'm just a celestial mage who isn't even that good. Can't you find someone else?"  
"Being a celestial mage is rare. I think there could be three more in this world, but they aren't a daughter of a powerful celestial mage like your mom."  
"I'm not that special…"  
"You are. When I train you, you will become more powerful than you could've imagined."

"I know it's a lot to take in but- "  
"Give me time to read it… and to think about it. First, I don't trust you. Second, Natsu clearly doesn't trust you because he didn't even let you finish talking at the house. We got hurt because of you… For the moment, stay the hell away from me."

Suddenly, Natsu came in the cave and saw Lucy standing, hearing the last words she said. His face immediately turned into one hot mess of anger.

"What the hell are you trying to do with her?!"

His fist lit up in flames and missed Jellal with a mere inch when he dodged the attack. Natsu kept on throwing punches and yelled at Lucy to leave the house. Lucy avoided the brawl and ran straight for the cave entrance, glad to have someone to distract Jellal and get out of there. She set one foot outside and Jellal passed her through the wall with Natsu's fist attached to his head. The cave didn't hold, but gladly they were all outside now. She watched how Jellal recovered, dodged Natsu's punches swiftly and touched the ground on a couple of places. It seemed weird, but suddenly Lucy knew instinctively what he was planning to do.

"Natsu watch out! He's planning a trap!"

Natsu noticed Jellal's movements now and got out of his range of attack. A mere second later, a cage of pure energy was built and Natsu would've been trapped in there if it wasn't for Lucy. Natsu threw a fireball to Jellal, but he diverted it and it hit a tree which caught fire instantly. Jellal conjured a shield and all Natsu's attacks were futile. Then Jellal did some signs and Lucy remembered the coming spell, but it was too late as Natsu was already trapped in the magic circle. He couldn't avoid the attack, tried to make a fire shield around him, but the shield let some of the magic through. Steam arose from his skin and he charged at Jellal the moment the magic circle disappeared. Jellal was fast, but Natsu faster. Another attack of Jellal left Natsu immobile and Lucy saw other signs in it. It seemed as if the sky split open and lightning shredded Natsu's clothes and scorched his skin. Another magic circle formed when Natsu was still recovering. When the attack hit, Natsu was forced on his knees. Lucy couldn't watch this no more. This was savage! How come this guy could do any good? She was already reaching for her keys to help Natsu, but he got out of it and hit Jellal with a burning fist like she hadn't seen before. Jellal got tossed ten meters further and Natsu was there before he could get up. Jellal had to take hit after hit, but soon had enough and counterattacked with his own sparring moves. Jellal hit Natsu in the stomach and jumped away to make signs for another magic circle. Natsu tried to get out of his range, but he was too late as the circle was much larger than the previous ones. Other magic circles appeared in the sky, aiming for Natsu and the attack was more than Natsu could take. He was forced down and hated the man in front of him more than he could imagine. He wouldn't let him get the best of him. He stood up, adrenaline pumping in his veins numbing the pain in his muscles and his wounds. Blood soaked the remainder of his clothes and there was only one thing on his mind. Kill the fucking bastard in front of him.

Lucy ran towards the fight when she saw the size of the attack. She had to help, but she was too late. When she summoned Loke, the attack had already hit Natsu. She froze as she felt the air shift. The parts where Natsu didn't have any wounds were now covered in scales. Steam came off his skin before he was covered in fire. Jellal couldn't do anything as Natsu's speed had visibly increased. Petrified, she didn't know what to do when Loke asked her what he had to do, who was on her side. When Jellal got hit multiple times, he couldn't avoid Natsu anymore and Lucy knew she had to stop this. She told Loke to break up their brawl and she did something she didn't expect to do. She followed Loke and when he got them off each other, Lucy took hold of Natsu's shoulders.

"Natsu! Stop this! Right now!"

She saw his hate, his anger for the man behind her but somehow, he now focused on her. She saw his features getting softer and he smiled while his legs started to shake. The adrenaline was wearing off…

"You ok, Luce?"  
"Stupid, you're in no shape to ask that. I'm fine, are you?"  
"A bit bruised, nothing Wendy can't fix."

She couldn't hold him as he fell. His knees didn't support him anymore and he needed a lot of rest and band-aid. Jellal got up and said something to Lucy, but she didn't listen.

"Leave. When someone has good intentions, they don't do this to the friends they want to protect. Don't contact me again, Jellal. Loke, help me carry him to the river."

Jellal left, knowing full well what was set in motion. He did his job for the emperor, not only that but he now knew that Natsu willing to go in his full mode when it comes to this celestial mage. That wasn't good. When he walked away, he saw a monkey disappearing in the shadows. Great, now the emperor knows that too. Everything he tried to stop was still set in motion. He couldn't read the diary and the only clue didn't want to see him anymore. Then it's time to operate from the shadows again. And to be honest, that was his specialty.

 **Hello everyone, I hope you like it! A brawl is always so hard to write, but so much fun in my head. Do leave a comment if you want, I really want to improve my English writing**

 **Anyway, thank you for reading!**


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